Descendants: Welcome to Auradon
by Reincarnations
Summary: After living on the Isle of the Lost for ten years, Ben is finally returning to Auradon with his three friends-Evie, Jay, and Carlos-and his girlfriend of three years-Mal, daughter of Maleficent. Ben is to be inducted as King of Auradon in less than a week. Surely nothing bad would happen during that week. Right? (Sequel to Raised on the Isle)
1. Chapter 1

**First chapter added in honor of the special event coming on tomorrow night. Just a warning, you need to read Raised on the Isle first before you read this. This chapter will confuse you if you don't. There is a sort of summary later on in this chapter, but it's better if you read Raised on the Isle.**

 **If I get the second chapter done, I'll update tomorrow before the event airs. I honestly doubt I will, but I'll try.**

 **I hope you enjoy this story and I promise you'll stay interested as it continues.**

* * *

At the end of the last story, Mal agreed to go to Auradon with Ben.

The month passed too quickly for the five's liking. Any moment now the limousine will pull up into the village and take them away to Auradon. They've been ready and packed since the first week they heard they were leaving.

Of course, the parents wanted to have a talk with their children. Ben wasn't invited, so he decided to head to his place for a few minutes. He would be checking if he missed anything that he wanted to pack and hide things that he didn't want stolen.

The meeting with the children took place at Maleficent's tenement apartment, which sat directly above Bargain Castle.

It was dark, dusty, and dirty—just to Maleficent's liking. The colored windowpanes were mismatched and blocked out the sun. Lights in the green crystals swayed from the high ceiling. The whole foul place smelled of sulfur. Maleficent, filing her nails, was seated in her tall green throne chair with her feet propped up. Mal and her three friends—Jay, Evie, Carlos—and their three parents sat around the apartment, waiting for Maleficent to explain why she had summoned all of them.

The villains had seen better days. Cruella, with her wild black-and-white hair, wore a ratty, nearly bald black-and-white dog-fur coat, which sported a bejeweled stuffed toy Dalmatian head next to her neck. She stroked it lovingly as if it were alive. Jafar, with his trademark mustache and goatee, was rocking a potbelly, a comb-over, and puffy Sansabelt pants. Evil Queen, a former beauty, pulled at her cosmetically altered face and stared into a mirror. Mal, Jay, and Carlos feared their parents nonetheless.

"You will go," Maleficent commanded the teens forcefully. "You will find the Fairy Godmother and you will bring me back her magic wand." She blew on her nails. "Easy peasy."

The children hid their surprise fairly well. Of course, their parents would want them to do something so evil. However, Mal didn't seem too thrilled with the plan. "You want me to go behind Ben's back?" She questioned skeptically.

"Of course!" The Mistress of Evil exclaimed. "He will be the perfect diversion for you to take the wand."

Mal shook her head. "No. I can't do that to my boyfriend. It would ruin his chance of being a good ruler. Auradon would see him as less than their other candidate."

Her mother scoffed. She knew Mal has been in a relationship with the outsider for quite some time and she hated it. "Your boyfriend of what? A few weeks?"

"Three years," Mal snapped in a tone her mother didn't approve. "What's in it for us anyways?"

Maleficent tossed her nail file over her shoulder, and beckoned Mal to her. "It's all about you and me, baby," she said, leaning in close to Mal. "Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?"

"Well, sure. But—"

"Well, then get me that wand! And you and I can see all that and so much more!" said Maleficent. "And with that wand and my scepter"—she held up her arms dramatically—" _I will be able to bend both good and evil to my will!"_

Evil Queen lowered her mirror. " _Our_ will," she corrected.

Cruella pointed at Evil Queen and nodded in agreement.

" _Our_ will, _our_ will," Maleficent agreed, trying to save face. She looked at Mal. "And if you refuse, you're grounded for the rest of your life, missy," she said firmly.

" _What?_ " cried Mal, distressed. "Mom!"

Maleficent stared into her daughter's eyes. Mal stared right back at her. The stare intensified. It was a test of power and focus. Mal and her mom did this every so often. Maleficent always won. Mal tore away her gaze. "Fine," Mal huffed begrudgingly, "whatever."

"I win," Maleficent declared.

"Malef, relax," said Evil Queen. "You're going to pop a vein and that is a look no one can rock."

Cruella cackled at the image.

"Did her face just move?" Maleficent asked Cruella, pointing at Evil Queen.

Cruella used her thumb and forefinger to indicate. "A little bit."

"Someone alert the media!" Maleficent shouted, only half teasing.

"Hilarious." Evil Queen rolled her eyes. "Evie! My little Evil-ette in training."

Evie ran over and sat obediently across the table from her mother.

"You just find yourself a prince with a big castle and a mother-in-law wing," ordered Evil Queen.

"And lots and lots of mirrors," said Evie and her mom in unison.

Evie beamed and clasped her hands.

"No laughing!" Her mother chided. "Wrinkles!"

Evie's smile vanished and she pouted.

Maleficent shouted, "Villains! Our day has come." She turned to Evil Queen and nodded at Evie. "E. Q., give her the magic mirror."

Evil Queen studied her brows in the shards of glass that used to be her magic mirror. "One minute, _s'il vous plait,"_ said Evil Queen, angling her face and studying her reflection.

" _Now!"_ screamed Maleficent.

"Oh, for badness' sake!" Evil Queen huffed. "World domination can wait another thirty seconds!" She handed her mirror to Evie.

" _This_ is your magic mirror?" asked Evie, sounding disappointed.

"Well," began Evil Queen, "it isn't what it used to be. Then again, neither are we!" She gestured to Maleficent, Cruella, and Jafar, and they laughed. "It will help you find things."

Evie's face lit up. "Like a prince!"

"Like my waistline."

" _Like the magic wand!_ Hello!" said Maleficent. She looked thoughtful. "I need my book. My spell book. Ah! The safe!" She tried to open the old refrigerator in her kitchen. "I can't open it," she complained. "Someone help me! I need to get in! It's broken! I can't get in!"

Everyone looked on as she banged the refrigerator until, finally, Evil Queen pulled its handle and the door opened. Maleficent reached in and retrieved the book.

"Ah! My spell book!" she said. "Come, come, darling," she called to Mal. She lovingly stroked the book's brown leathery cover, which featured a gold embossed dragon. "There she is! It doesn't work here, but it will in Auradon." She looked at Evil Queen. "Remember when we were spreading evil and ruining lives?"

"Like it was yesterday," Evil Queen reminisced.

Maleficent spun to her daughter. "And now, you will be making your own memories. . . ." She offered the spell book to Mal, but before Mal could take it, she snatched it away. "By doing exactly as I tell you." She shoved the spell book into Mal's arms.

A horn sounded from the street causing the villains and their children to jump at the sudden noise.

"Let's get this party started!" Jay exclaimed, mostly to divert their embarrassment.

"Carlos! Come!" Cruella called to her son like he was a dog.

Evie checked her appearance in the for any sudden imperfections. Evie Queen stood a couple feet in front of with her arms stretched out. "Who is the fairest of them all?" She asked her daughter.

"Me!" Evie exclaimed with a confident smile.

"Eh!" Her mother sounded in disapproval.

Evie's smile dropped to a frown as she corrected with a grumble, "You!"

"Yes!" Evil Queen clapped her hands approvingly. "Let's go."

Jafar pulled Jay aside for a private exchange. "Now, recite our mantra."

"There's no team in 'I'," Jay announced.

Jafar smiled. "Run along. You're making me tear up!"

As everyone filed out of the room, Maleficent threw open the doors and led Mal onto the balcony. They looked over the busy isle streets strung with lights and gazed across the sea. Auradon Prep could be seen nestled in the majestic green mountains. Mal couldn't believe that she'd be there, finally, after so many years of waiting.

"The future of the free world rests on your shoulders." Maleficent placed a hand on Mal's shoulder and gave her a stern warning, "Don't blow it." She winked and disappeared inside.

Mal lingered on the balcony, not taking her eyes off Auradon. She was afraid but also excited. Ben had kept his promise, and she could only hope that he would forgive her for betraying him.

"Mal!" her mother sang, beckoning her.

Mal headed back inside, but not before giving the tiny dot that was Auradon Prep one last look.

From below, the horn honked again, a reminder that it was time to depart.

* * *

A black stretch limo was parked outside Maleficent's tenement.

It looked wildly out of place in the squalid city. Villagers crowded around it curiously. Jay, Carlos, and Evie walked outside, whooping with glee to see their ride.

"Ugh," said Evil Queen, eyeing the villagers. "Smells like common folk."

The driver emerged from the limo in a crisp gray suit and dark sunglasses. He took the teens' luggage—Jay's carpetbag, Evie's suitcase and sewing machine, and Carlo's big black trash bag—and loaded it into the trunk. Jay swiped the crown-shaped hood ornament and climbed into the limo along with Evie and Carlos.

Mal walked out of her home and before she could take a few steps forward, someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her a couple feet off the ground. She wasn't the least bit scared because she knew exactly who it was.

"Ben!" She squealed with a laugh. "Put me down!"

Her boyfriend of three years—even though he liked to say ten—obediently did as he was told.

In case some of you don't remember, Ben has lived on the Isle for ten years. He just appeared one day and didn't know who he was until his fourth year of living on the Isle. Mal had been the one to find him and they sort of became almost inseparable. They started dating a few days after Mal turned thirteen, but Ben tells people they've been together for ten years since that is how long they've known each other.

Ben kept an arm around Mal's waist, his smile so infectious that she grew one herself. "Finally," he announced as he squeezed her a little tighter. "We're _finally_ going to Auradon after so many years. Can you believe it?"

"Honestly, no," she confessed. "But let's not jinx ourselves. We don't know if they'll suddenly accept us."

"It will take some time," he agreed. "But they will have to eventually if I'm going to be their king."

"You'll be amazing." Mal encouraged as she pecked his cheek. "They'll be glad that you are the ruler instead of the other candidate."

Giving her a peck of his own, Ben went inside vehicle first while Mal handed the driver her bag. He tossed it in and slammed the trunk shut. She took one last look up at the balcony, where her an 'I have my eye on you' sign. Mal nodded.

Taking in a deep breath, she entered the limousine, finding a cozy spot on Ben's lap. It's a little routine of theirs since they've been a couple. Ben would sit first and Mal would sit on his lap. They weren't really sure when or why they started the routine, but they refused to change it in any way.

The driver slid into his seat and shut the door. "The beast and jackals have landed," he said into a mike inside his lapel.

The villains waved good-bye to their children from outside the limo as it began to roll. On the street, the villagers looked on as the limo cruised away.

Mal, Ben, and their friends took in the inside of the limo. They ogled all the buttons, gadgets, colored lights, refreshments, and vast arrays of chocolates, gumballs, jawbreakers, jelly beans, rock candies, and other sweets. Jay wrenched open the fridge. His friends played with the sound system, unwrapped candies and opened cans of soda, and pressed every button, quickly trashing the limo.

Evie went at Mal with a makeup brush. "You're looking a little washed out. Let me help you out."

"Ew, stop." Mal batted her away. "I'm thinking."

"It's not very attractive," commented Evie, gnawing on blue rock candy.

"Well, I think it makes her look more beautiful than she already is," Ben argued. The compliment resulted in a sweet kiss from Mal and candy being thrown by their friends.

Carlos wolfed down a chocolate peanut butter cup and shook his head with wonder. "Oh! These! It's salty like nuts, but it's sweet like I don't know what."

"Let me see," said Jay.

Carlos opened his mouth for Jay to look at the chewed-up peanut butter cup on his tongue. Some fell out. Jay took a cup from Carlos and popped it into his mouth.

Mal clicked a remote. The screen that separated the teens from the driver opened.

"Look!" Evie exclaimed, now that she had a clear view out the front of the limo.

The five teens stared ahead at the ruined remains of a bridge and the impenetrable barrier. There was just sea ahead. It looked like they were going to be driven straight into the water. But they wouldn't try to drown the heir to the throne.

Right?

"It's a trap!" Carlos shouted, terrified.

They all screamed. Carlos jumped onto Jay, Evie clung to Mal for dear life, and Ben shielded his beloved the best he could so he'd get most of the damage from the impact. The driver pushed a remote attached to the visor. The limo hit the ruins of the bridge and barreled through the barricade. They did not hurtle into the sea. Instead, a magnificent bridge appeared under the steady wheels of the limo. Quickly, Mal and her friends composed themselves, embarrassed about losing their cool. Ben kept an arm around Mal while Jay peeled Carlos off him.

"What just happened?" Carlos wondered.

"It must be magic!" Evie deduced with a happy smile.

Mal tapped the wall behind the driver. "Hey!" She held up the remote she still had in her hand. "Did this little button just open up the magic barrier?" she asked him.

"Nope." The driver indicated the remote on his visor. " _This_ one opens the magic barrier." He motioned at the remote Mal held. "That one opens my garage. And this one . . ." He pushed a button and the screen slid up, shutting odd Mal and her friends.

"Nasty." Mal smiled approvingly. "I like that guy."

The limo traveled across the bridge, which continued to extend over the wide expanse of water toward Auradon. The bridge behind the limo disappeared, leaving no way for them to travel back or for anyone to follow. The driver pulled the limo into the sunny kingdom of Auradon and slowed in front of a sign:

WELCOME TO AURADON PREP.

GOODNESS DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER.

* * *

 **What do you think? I'm gonna try to keep the chapters around this length. Be sure to leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you! Thank you for everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story the past day that it has been up. I was surprised that I had so many views in such little time.**

 **This chapter is being added as a present and for the event that's happening tonight. It's pretty long because I wanted certain events to be together in one chapter.**

 **I hope you like this chapter! I know most of you won't like the surprise twist at the end.**

* * *

The limo cruised through the sprawling green campus and came to a stop. An impressive building with a flower garden loomed before them. A group of curious students in blue-and-gold uniforms waited outside the limo, waving welcome flags. A marching band started to play with great gusto. The driver opened the limo door, and Jay and Carlos tumbled out. They were about as undignified as it got.

Jay was yanking at a scarf that Carlos was clutching.

"You got everything else, why do you want this?" Carlos asked.

"'Cause _you_ want it!" Jay insisted, wrestling Carlos to the ground and pinning him there with his foot. In their squabble, they didn't notice the group of students watching them. The students backed away at the sight of them fighting, and the band dribbled to a wheezing stop.

Evie emerged out of the vehicle next, completely ignoring their little fight. She twirled dramatically to get a view of the place and so the students could get a good view of her. By the end of the day, everyone will know who she is.

Mal stepped out next, but her arm was still inside the vehicle. She waited like that for a few seconds until her lovely boyfriend, Ben, appeared with his hand in hers. The students gasped. Was it from seeing the lost prince? Or was it from him holding hands with the most famous villain's daughter?

A smiling woman stepped through a clump of students with her arms outstretched as if she were about to hug someone. She had brown hair pulled back in a loose bun, pearl earrings, and a lavender dress with a pink bow at the neck.

Mal noticed the woman and alerted her friends. "Guys, guys, guys," Mal muttered from the side of her mouth. " _We have an audience._ " Then she put on a fake smile and struck a fetching pose. Evie followed suit, resting her hands on her hips. Of course, Mal's original pose was quickly forgotten when Ben wrapped his arms around her, essentially hugging her from behind. Mal ended up moving her hands to rest on top of his to make herself feel a little more comfortable.

Jay smiled and told his audience, "Just _cleaning up_." He helped Carlos to his feet.

The woman addressed Jay. "Leave it like you found it!" She grinned. "And by that, I mean just leave it." She gave Jay a pointed look.

Jay reluctantly tossed all his loot back into the limo, including the scarf.

The woman smiled and nodded approvingly.

Then Jay noticed a pretty student with caramel-colored skin and chocolate-brown hair. She wore a blue sweater, a pink dress, and a gleaming gold necklace. He sauntered up to her with a smile, probably scheming to take the necklace. "Hello, foxy. The name's Jay."

The girl laughed, then stopped.

The woman stepped forward and spoke specifically to Ben. "Welcome home, Prince Ben!"

"My 'home' is the Isle of the Lost." Ben corrected without thinking first. Mal squeezed his hands in warning—some would probably see it as something else. He continued, "But Auradon will be like a second home to me, eventually."

The woman's smile faltered slightly. "Of course." She then went on to introduce herself. "If you don't remember, I'm Fairy Godmother. Headmistress." She bowed elegantly.

" _The_ Fairy Godmother?" Mal asked. "As in 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo'?" She pretended to wave a wand for emphasis.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-you-know-it!" Fairy Godmother agreed.

Mal gave her a forced good-girl smile. "Yeah, I always wondered what if felt like for Cinderella when you just . . . appeared out of nowhere! With that sparkling _wand_ and warm smile . . . and that sparkling _wand_." She flashed a bog cheesy smile.

Carlos licked chocolate off his fingers as Mal spoke.

"That was a long time ago," insisted Fairy Godmother. "And as I always say, don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future!" She smiled. " _Wherever_ you wind up!"

Fairy Godmother searched the crowd of students expectantly before a disappointed sigh escaped her. "The former heir was supposed to greet you as well," she revealed. "He was supposed to take you on a tour of the school."

Ben forced a smile. "I've heard a few things about him from the guards that tried to force me to leave a month ago. He's probably not too happy that I'm going to be king instead of him."

"Audrey here will show you around instead," Fairy Godmother decided in a split second to avoid any conflict.

" _Princess_ Audrey," the girl corrected.

"I'm a princess too," Evie said as she stepped forward. "My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess." She started to bow.

"The Evil Queen has no royal status here," Audrey began with a sugar-sweet smile, "and neither do you."

"I'll have Doug lead you to your test, the four of you to your rooms, and then to your parents." Fairy Godmother gave Audrey a look that said to tone it down. "I'll see you all tomorrow. 'The doors of wisdom _are never shut_!' But the library hours are from eight to eleven, and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews." She smiled, turned away from the new arrivals, and walked toward a building with the marching band following in her footsteps.

Audrey glared at Mal through a smile. "Hey! You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" Then she said in a disingenuous voice, "I totally don't blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff. Oh, my mom's Aurora. Sleeping—"

"Beauty. Yeah, I've heard the name," said Mal, cutting her off. "You know, and I totally don't blame your grandparents for inviting _everyone in the world_ except for my mother to their stupid christening."

Audrey blasted a fake smile. "Water under the bridge!"

"Totes!" Mal agreed, putting on an even bigger fake smile.

Both girls fake laughed and let the laughter fizzle out in unison. Ben placed a sweet kiss on Mal's cheek to sooth her hidden uneasiness. A genuine smile made a way on her face while Audrey's smile faltered.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise. She motioned between the two of them. "Are you two a couple?"

"That's right." Mal's smile grew as her eyes glowed defiantly. "Most of the Isle is jealous of us."

"Well, you probably won't last long here."

"We lasted ten _years_ on the Isle." Mal tilted her head knowingly. "I'm sure we'll last even longer here."

Audrey headed toward the garden as she dropped the subject. It was almost like she knew something that the couple didn't. Anyways, she shared simple facts about the school and its history.

The teens looed up into the face of a fearsome statue that resembled Ben's father in Beast form. Audrey clapped and it came to life and growled. Carlos squealed and jumped into Jay's arms. Audrey gave a quick double clap. The statue magically transformed into the Beast as a young prince. Carlos relaxed a little.

"It's okay," she reassured. "King Beast wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible."

As the tour slowly continued, Mal muttered to Ben, "Do you think he sheds much?"

"Yeah," Ben answered with a serious expression. "Mom probably doesn't let him on the couch."

Mal and he exchanged looks. Mal gave a wry smile and he smiled back. They shared a quick kiss as the continued to focus on the boring tour.

Inside the building, there was a fireplace, dark wood staircases, chandeliers, and stained glass windows that made the place feel warm and sunny.

"So, you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon?" Mal questioned. "Like wands and things like that?"

"Yes, it exists but it's retired," Audrey said snootily. "Most of us here are kings and queens. Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years."

She noticed a nerdy boy with thick glasses heading down the stairs. The boy was wearing a blue-and-gold marching band uniform and carried a clipboard. "Doug!" Audrey called expectantly. "Doug, come down!"

When he was next to the princess, she announced, "This is Doug. He's going to help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms. If you need anything at all, ask Doug." She fake laughed before leaving dramatically.

"Hi, guys." Doug waved. "I'm Dopey's son? As in"—he started counting on his fingers—"Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and . . . " Evie caught Doug's eye. " _Heigh-ho_ ," he said to her, completely charmed.

Evie went nose to nose with him. "Evie. Evil Queen's daughter." She started to twirl her hair flirtatiously.

Doug snapped out of his daze before speaking directly to Ben, "So about your test. I am to lead you to an office and you're supposed to negotiate with my uncle—who has been elected to represent the dwarfs and sidekicks—about some kind of issue involving their petitions."

"I've been preparing for it," Ben reassured. "Is Mal allowed to be with me in the room? She has helped me with it."

Doug shrugged. "I don't see why not. Follow me."

* * *

Ben and Mal led to a room that would eventually be his office when he became king. Doug took Evie, Jay, and Carlos to their dorm rooms so they wouldn't have to wait on the two to finish their meeting. Since this is official business, Mal thought it would be best if she remained standing instead of them doing their usual routine. It felt quite unusual.

After some time, Grumpy finally arrived.

"So _you're_ the missing prince," Grumpy mused when Lumiere ushered him into the conference room. "I would say 'Welcome Home', but I heard you didn't see it as such. I supposed I'll be the first to say 'Welcome to Auradon'."

Ben smiled at the phrase. It had a nice ring to it. 'Welcome Home' sounded like the title of a second story, but he digressed.

Grumpy turned to Mal unexpectantly. "And you are?"

"I'm Mal," she held out a hand in greeting, to which he shook fearlessly. "I'm the daughter of Maleficent, but you don't have to worry. The only thing I have common with my mother is a name."

"She's here to help me control my temper," Ben informed, mainly so she wouldn't be asked to leave. "I found on the Isle that I have a temper that's hard for me to control. When I'm negotiating with someone, I always have a third person to be the mediator so I don't go ' _beast_ ', as some would say. Mal helped me with coming up with solutions to your—to _our_ problem."

"That's very 'king' of you," Grumpy complimented. He must be having a good day since he's not acting so grumpy, or the author didn't know how to write his character.

Grumpy took a seat across from the prince, his short legs swinging like a child's. "I hope your solution is better than the last child."

"I heard about what happened," Ben insisted, "and I'd like to apologize for him for his behavior."

"You—What?" Grumpy was caught off guard. "But you don't know him. Why would you do such a thing?"

Ben shrugged. "I understand that it's stressful when trying to come up with ideas that benefits everyone. While on the Isle, it took Mal and I a few tries before we were able to start making their lives better. For a while, I was a joke until the villagers benefited."

Grumpy raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "And how did you do such a thing?"

"We sorted out the food from the shipments that arrive on Saturdays," Mal explained. "Children twelve or younger and villains that were sixty-five or older would get the fresher foods. Those in between would get the rottener food because their immune system could handle it."

"And why do you do such things?"

"Because _we_ are the Queen and King of the Isle." Ben shrugged again. "They gave us the title when we first became a couple. We decided to take it seriously and our reputation is pretty good. We haven't failed them yet. Mal has more of their respect since she was born there."

That surprised the dwarf even more than the apology. "You're a couple? For how long?"

"We've been romantically involved for three years," Mal quickly answered before Ben could. "Ben likes to say we've been together for ten years because that's how long we've known each other. The villains have helped us hide our relationship from my mother. I was the one that found him on the boat when he first arrived on the Isle."

"And we've been inseparable ever since." Ben reached over and squeezed her hand for emphasis.

"Child aren't you going to sit?" Grumpy suddenly asked. It's been bothering him for a while and he finally wanted to say something. "This meeting may take some time and you'll tire quickly if you stay like that."

Mal blushed while Ben cleared his throat uneasily. "We have a certain routine that wouldn't be acceptable for this kind of meeting," he explained. "On the Isle, people were fine with it when we do so during school, but we don't know how they'll react here."

"Go ahead," the dwarf insisted. "I won't judge."

Reluctantly, Mal found herself seated on Ben's lap within a few seconds. His arms were wrapped securely around her waist, making him a little less tense. Although she was embarrassed, Mal wouldn't be afraid to admit that she was more comfortable.

"Anyways," Ben continued on to actually begin the meeting, "we read all one thousand and one pages of your complaint."

"Really? All one thousand?" asked Grumpy, sounding impressed.

"And one." Mal smiled kindly. "Ben's a fast reader, so he took notes on the main points while I tried to catch up. From what we could gather, it appears what you and your colleagues are demanding is to be heard, and to have a voice in your future. Something more than just a seat at the Council."

"It's not that much to ask is it?" Grumpy wondered keenly.

"No, it's not," Ben acknowledged. "And I think we can come to a simple agreement."

"What do you propose?"

Ben smiled. "I propose listening to the people who know best."

Grumpy raised an eyebrow.

Ben consulted their notes, which was a crumpled and water spotted stack of papers. "Let's start with the mermaids. They should charge a silver coin for every undersea tour. And I'll talk to Ariel about giving Flounder's collecting for her a break."

Grumpy nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Continue."

"We've also made a plan to set up a college fund for the Dalmatians—all ninety-nine puppies will be eligible for financial aid through the Puppy Grant." Mal went on, taking a turn. "It may take us a few days to set up the Puppy Grant considering we just arrived in Auradon."

"Pongo will appreciate that," Grumpy insisted. "But what about us miners?"

"Half of everything you mine must still remain the property of the kingdom," said Ben. He figured his father would settle for no less.

"Half?" Grumpy repeated, sounding alarmed. "What about the rest of the diamonds? Where does that go?"

"The other half will go to a 410D Fund," Mal reassured before the dwarf could get a stroke. "A retirement fund for dwarfs, to take care of your families and your children. Tell Bashful not to worry."

"Sounds fair enough," Grumpy nodded. "What about the restriction of magic? Just between you and me, those three fairies make a lot of noise."

"The three good fairies will have to take their complaint up with the Fairy Godmother," Ben commented. "We can't do anything about it, I'm afraid. But I'll get them a meeting with her. That much we can do."

"And Genie's request for unlimited travel within the kingdom?" Grumpy frowned. At this point, he was struggling to find something to be grumpy about. The couple sure knew what they are doing."

"Approved, so long as he clears his itinerary with the palace beforehand." That was a difficult decision to make. They knew people wouldn't want him popping up anywhere without notice, but if the villagers were warned about Genie's arrival, maybe all would be well.

Grumpy folded his arms. "What about the woodland creatures? They're working their paws and hooves to the bone."

"I'll have a team install dishwashers, washer-dryers, and vacuum cleaners in every household."

"Or people could do things by hand," Mal pipped in. "The teens could actually do those things as chores. We have to do so on the Isle, and we didn't die from it."

Although he would deny it later on, Grumpy laughed. "I like your idea, but I'm afraid the children here are quite spoiled. I think our furry friends will appreciate it. It's hard to do dishes by hand, without, you know, hands."

Mal laughed while Ben tried to hold in his. She and Grumpy were getting along better than anyone could imagine. It was quite a surprise to see it himself.

"As for Mary and the mice, from now on, they will be compensated with the finest cheese in the kingdom from the king's own larders." Ben let the last paper drop.

"Fair enough." Grumpy nodded again.

"So we have a deal?"

Grumpy put out his hand. "Deal."

Ben shook it and so did Mal for the heck of it. They were more relieved than they let on. At least, they hoped they weren't letting it on.

"You know what, young man?" huffed Grumpy with a frown.

Ben steeled himself for a grouchy comment, but none came.

"You're going to make a good king," Grumpy said with a smile. He turned to Mal. "And _you_ will be good by his side. I admire both of your problem solving skills. _Auradon_ will benefit from both of you. I am proud to eventually be able to call you 'King and Queen of Auradon'. However, I will settle with 'Queen and King of the Isle' for now."

The couple smiled at the compliment. Ben squeezed Mal a little tighter, pleased by how well the meeting had turned out. Their work was done, at least for today. If this is what being king and queen is all about, then maybe it won't be as hard they thought. And if this not easy to please dwarf approved of their relationship, then maybe everyone else will eventually.

The dwarf picked up his stocking cap and hopped down from his seat, turning toward the council-room door.

Then he paused.

With a sigh, Grumpy turned back to the couple. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "But I feel obligated to tell you this."

Mal tilted her head in curiosity. "Tell us what?"

"Some very bad news."

They waited for him to speak, but they wished they hadn't. The colored drained from their faces as soon as the news was told.

"Ben is planned to be married to Princess Audrey when he becomes king."


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't you just love how much I am updating this story and how much of a procrastinator I am when it comes to my college assignments?**

 **I've sort of determined that I'm updating this story on the weekends when I can. For me this semester, the weekend is Friday through Sunday. So in other words you have the possibility of having three chapters a weekend, or only one. It depends on my other two stories, college assignments, and work. I can promise you that this story will be finished before the third movie.**

 **What was your opinion on the short story? I was sort of confused, but I think the third movie will clear things up. Loved the song of course; had it on repeat while typing this chapter. I am still rooting for Gil x Audrey in the third film even though there's no hints for it.**

 **Anyways, I'm sorry for the cliffhanger (not really), but here is the next chapter to make up for it! Things get a little better, but not by much.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Things were _not_ going very well for our favorite couple. After hearing about her boyfriend's arranged marriage, Mal was on the verge of having one of her infamous panic attacks. To makes matters worse, they found out from Doug that they weren't allowed to sleep in the same room.

In case some of you forgot, Mal and Ben have been sleeping next to each other ever since Ben first arrived on the Isle, which has been a little over ten years. Since they've done so, they can't sleep if they aren't next to each other. On most weekends Ben would go to the other side of the Isle, leaving the two unable to sleep for that weekend. They'd try, but it would end with them tossing and turning all night without a wink of rest.

After explaining their situation, Doug promised to speak with Fairy Godmother about it after he leads Mal to her dorm room. Lumiere would be taking Ben to meet his parents, who would also be trying to get to the bottom of his 'arranged marriage'. Ben quietly requested of Doug to keep Mal distracted from their current issues.

Although he was given no further explanations for the request, Doug tried his hardest to come up with different things to talk about to keep Mal interested. He spoke about all the things Auradon Prep had to offer like various clubs and sports. He offered to sign her up for art club, knowing she was a drawer from her friends.

She declined, so Doug went on about her class schedule. He put in some of the requirements like History of Woodsmen and Pirates, Safety Rules for the Internet, and Remedial Goodness 101. Remedial Goodness was a new class designed for the Isle kids and Ben would also be required to take the class for a few days. That seemed to cheer Mal up slightly, but she was starting to breath a little too uneasy for his liking.

Before they were anywhere near her dorm room, Mal asked to be showed where Jay and Carlos would be staying. Doug seemed a little confused by the plead, but she made an excuse that Evie would probably be in there with them. She would lead her back to their room when they were ready to leave.

Doug changed the direction they were going slightly. He quickened his pace to a fast walk when he noticed Mal continuously flexing her hands and fingers. He could guess what was happening to her and probably be right.

Once they came to the correct room, Doug knocked on the door impatiently. After a couple seconds of no answers, he knocked again. He was about to knock for the third time when Evie finally opened the door. As soon as she saw Mal in her condition, she pulled her inside and closed the gap so Doug couldn't see in.

"Where's Ben?" Evie interrogated. No 'thank you', but Doug should have known better since it's their first day in Auradon.

"He should be with his parents at the moment." Doug claimed. "I'm going to talk to Fairy Godmother about Mal and Ben's sleeping issue. I'll be back to tell what she said."

Evie nodded. "That's a good idea. If you'll excuse me."

She didn't wait for a response. She slammed the door shut before Doug could say something.

He sighed in dismay. Two questions ranged through his mind as he began his search for the headmistress.

How could he already be falling so hard for Evie when it was only her first day?

And did Mal have her panic attacks often?

* * *

"Jay!" Mal cried once she was ushered in the room.

Jay, who was in the middle of sorting through the items he stolen in the last couple hours, dropped the computer he was holding once he saw her. He rushed over and enveloped her in a tight hug. Mal practically collapsed in his arms as she buried her head in his shoulder.

Jay led her to the bed so she'd have a place to sit as she began to cry out loud for the whole world to hear. Carlos immediately muted his video game and Evie turned down the volume of the stereo system so the room would be a little quieter for Mal. When she was like this, other noises were not good for her.

"It's okay," Jay cooed as he began to rock her slowly to calm her down. "Deep breaths. Go to your happy place."

After what felt like eternity, the panic attack seemed to have subsided, but Mal was still crying uncontrollably.

"Did the meeting go that bad?" Carlos joked, trying to do something to make her stop.

It worked.

Mal let out a shallow laugh. "The meeting went great," she revealed as she wiped away the tears. "Grumpy and I got along amazingly well. He is the officially the first to fully accept us."

"What happened then?" Jay wondered softly as he kept going with the rocking movement. "Why did you have an attack?"

Mal sobbed at remembering. "Grumpy told us Ben has an arranged marriage."

"What?" Evie knelt before her and grabbed Mal's hands to rub soothing circles. "That can't be right. Why would he be in an arranged marriage when he's been missing for ten years?"

"Apparently it was planned just a few days before he disappeared." Mal paused as Evie rubbed away a tear. "From what Grumpy knew, Ben is supposed to be married a _day_ after he's king."

"Marriage at sixteen?" Carlos continued to joke. "Auradon has some strange traditions."

Mal forced out a laugh. She waited again for Evie to brush away her remaining tears. "To make it worse, it's Audrey that he's supposed to marry."

The trio made a face at the idea. They've only been around the princess for about an hour, but they couldn't stand her. She was spoiled rotten and was an absolutely terrible match for Ben.

"Where is Ben now?" Jay questioned.

"He's talking with his parents." Mal revealed with a sob. "He's going to try to make them call off the marriage."

"Well, let's get the wand!" Evie suggested, changing the subject slightly. "While he's gone, we can try to steal it. We did some research and it's being kept in a museum."

"Evie, I am in no mood for a heist." Mal shook her head in denial. "Even if we get the wand, I would still be going behind Ben's back. If I'm having this much issues with the thought of him being married to someone else, I don't know how I'll react when I betray him."

The three friends stayed silent. They had a feeling that whatever happens, Mal will still be left broken hearted.

* * *

To say that Ben was tense on the walk to meet his parents was an understatement. It's bad enough that he had to leave his beloved Mal when she was on the verge of a panic attack. Now he has to reunite with his parents while _he_ was on the verge of losing his temper.

His parents looked about the same as he remembered them. The only difference with his mother was her hair being cut in a bob. His father still had the same blue eyes he had at one time wished he had.

Queen Belle gave her son a hug once he entered the hearth room. "You're finally back," she stated the obvious before she pulled away. "We were afraid we would never see you again."

Ben forced a smile despite his inner feelings. "Well I knew I would come to Auradon eventually." He glanced at his father. "I just wish there wasn't secrets being kept from me on my first day here."

King Beast didn't bother hiding his confusion while his wife made the short strides to his side. "What do you mean?" He wondered.

"Don't act like you don't know," Ben growled as he purposely let some of his anger out. "When were you going to tell me about my arranged marriage? The day I became king? Or the day I introduce you to my girlfriend from the Isle?"

The parents were more surprised by the last question than his anger. "Didn't Lumiere or the guards tell you?" Ben interrogated. "I only agreed to come here if my girlfriend and our three friends came with me."

"They didn't tell us about her." King Beast sent an accusing look at the servant.

Lumiere cleared his throat to hide his fear. "We didn't know how you'd react if we told you who she was."

Queen Belle placed a hand on her husband's arm to keep him calm for a little longer. "Who is she?"

"Mal," Ben replied, "the daughter of Maleficent."

"Maleficent!" King Beast shouted at the mention of the name. "She is the worst villain in the land. How could you have fallen for her daughter? She's probably no better than her mother!"

"I am alive because of Mal!" Ben yelled over his father. "She found me on that boat so many years ago and became my first friend on the Isle. I survived so long because of her. I fell in love with her and she did the same with me. We were always together after I first arrived. Since being a couple, we were almost inseparable. The only time we'd be apart was when I was visiting my friend on the other side of the Isle."

"It doesn't matter here." King Beast argued. "You will be married to Princess Audrey, end of discussion."

"No." Ben retorted as he stood his ground. "I will not marry that spoiled and obnoxious girl over my true love. Who even forces their kids into an arranged marriage? Didn't all of the queens and kings choose who they get to marry? Why should they choose who their kids marry?"

"This discussion is over." King Beast determined with a forceful glare. "You won't change our minds."

"Then how about I give you an ultimatum." Ben crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "Either you call off the wedding or I go back to the Isle."

"What?" Queen Belle stepped forward concerningly. "Ben, you just came home."

"The Isle is my home," the son insisted. "As of now, Auradon is nothing to me."

The parents shared concerned looks. Would their son really do such a thing?

"Your choice." Ben shrugged his shoulder. "Either I get to be with whoever I want or I return home and the other poor candidate becomes the King of Auradon instead."

King Beast huffed as his shoulders sagged. He was defeated. He couldn't allow that prince to become ruler of the kingdom. Everything King Beast had done for Auradon would go to waste if that tyrant becomes king.

"Alright," he complied begrudgingly. "I'll meet with King Philip and Queen Aurora in a couple hours to end the arrange marriage."

Ben smiled, which made things slightly better for his parents. It's been so long since they've seen his smile. "Thank you." His smile grew. "I know you probably want to catch up, but I need to Mal the good news."

His father motioned toward the door, giving his son permission to leave. Of course, Ben couldn't leave without giving his parents a quick hug to show his gratefulness. That made having to call off the wedding worth it.

But how will Audrey react to the news?

* * *

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Carlos answered the door to see a smiling Ben. Without permission, the prince strolled inside. His smile faltered when he saw his beloved's puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. Mal, Jay, and Evie were in the same position as we last saw them in the chapter. Jay had his arms around Mal rocking her back and forth while Evie was on her knees rubbing circles on Mal's hand.

"Why are you upset?" Ben questioned, trying to act oblivious.

Mal glared at her boyfriend with her green blood-shot eyes. "You know why," she spat defensively.

"Actually, I don't," Ben insisted as he took a step forward so he was standing in front of her and smiled, "considering my parents are calling off the wedding."

The four perked up. Mal forced herself to stand, essentially removing herself Jay's grip. She had a mystified look on her face, like she couldn't believe what she heard. "What?" She whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loudly, it wouldn't be true.

Ben's smile grew larger as he repeated, "My parents are calling off the wedding. I told them I would go back to the Isle if I didn't get to choose who I marry." He grabbed her hand and lifted it up so she could see his ring, a gold band with an engraved beast, on her finger. "And I chose you a few months ago."

"Wait," Carlos said as he ruined the moment, "what do you mean you chose her a few months ago?"

Mal laughed despite her mood a few second ago. She wiped away her remaining tears, "Let's just say, the people were right when they thought this," she motioned to the jewelry, "was an engagement ring."

Their friends' jaws dropped to the floor at the revelation. "We wanted to keep it a secret," Ben explained before they could start asking question. "We were going to wait until we were eighteen before we told and before we actually married."

"And now we can." Mal smiled through her tears. "Now our only problem is our sleeping issue."

If only she knew.

* * *

 **A lovely ending with another cliffhanger. Be sure to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Four chapters in one weekend, I'm really spoiling you guys.**

 **So I couldn't sleep with my parents drinking with their friends upstairs and thus this chapter was created!**

 **I am cutting it off there! No more chapters until next weekend! You're going to hate me for it, but I do need to work on a couple other stories.**

 **Sorry in advance!**

* * *

Of course, Fairy Godmother didn't change her mind when it came to Mal and Ben's sleeping arrangements. Honestly, the couple was in no mood to try to fight with the headmistress. They would have to deal with each issue one day at a time.

It still didn't change the fact that they couldn't sleep.

Mal gave up after about an hour of tossing and turning when she realized she was keeping Evie up with her movements. The princess hates when she doesn't get her full eight hours of beauty sleep. Mal ended up slipping out of bed and sitting at the desk. With the lamp at the dimmest setting, she wasted time by drawing in her sketch book. After a couple hours of drawing random objects, she finally worked on a self-portrait of her and Ben. It was basically a replica of a picture Ben had taken for his 'Selfies' class on the Isle. It was them stargazing on the Isle after they returned from the 'howler' at Cruella's home.

Meanwhile, Ben was trying to exhaust himself to sleep. He had given up around the same time as Mal and decided to put the exercise machines in his room to use. There were at least four completely different machines that worked out different parts of his body. He used each machine about two hours each non-stop, which totaled to eight hours of exercise with zeros breaks. Definitely not good for his body, but it didn't make him tired.

By the morning, the couple was buzzing with anticipation to be next to the other just to have a little release of their pain. Knowing of their eagerness, Evie, Jay, and Carlos reluctantly agreed to head to class early so they could have a few minutes of rest. The four had arrived about fifteen minutes early to their first class of the day—Remedial Goodness 101—where Ben was already waiting on them in a seat in the middle of the classroom.

Mal practically ran to him in longing. They shared a quick greeting—a morning kiss and a summary of their restless night—before Mal was back in her usual position of sitting on Ben's lap and his arms wrapped around her. With their foreheads touching, they fell asleep in seconds; they only need a few minutes of rest to be fully charged from lack of sleep. Jay used a camera he stole the day before to capture the moment and to use for future black mail.

Fairy Godmother was quite surprised to see the five so early to class when she arrived. She had come a few minutes early herself to write some questions and phrases on the chalkboard before they were original supposed to appear. She was even more surprised to see the couple sleeping in their seating routine.

Jay then went on to explain Mal and Ben's issue that had been stated in the previous chapter. They can't sleep if they aren't together. It's been that way for ten years. They weren't lying; they were telling the truth when they asked Doug to reason with her.

Although she originally disapproved of it, Fairy Godmother gave her permission to allow them to stay in the same room. She would give them the full details later when they awake. For now, the headmistress decided to let them rest for a few minutes longer as she prepared herself for the class.

When the couple woke up twenty minutes later, the first thing they saw was Fairy Godmother standing in front of a blackboard that had WELCOME TO REMEDIAL GOODNESS! written on it, along with phrases like MOUTHS ARE FOR SMILING, NOT FOR BITING and SHARING IS CARING.

Before the lesson actually started, Fairy Godmother gave the two main rules of their sleeping together. If they were to stay in Ben's room—which is what they would be doing—Mal would have to be in there before curfew and out of the room the next morning by eight at the latest.

Anyways, within ten minutes of the class starting, the five were downright miserable.

"If someone hands you a crying baby," Fairy Godmother began as she moved her arms to make it look like she was cradling an infant, "do you: A. curse it, B. lock it in a tower, C. give it a bottle, or D. carve out its heart?"

Evie raised her hand enthusiastically.

Fairy Godmother motioned her pointer stick to the blue-haired girl. "Evie."

The teen dropped her hand and asked in an oblivious but peppy tone, "What was the second one?"

"Oh, okay." Fairy Godmother stating, knowing exactly where that was going. She adverted her attention to the other students looking for volunteers. "Anyone else?"

Mal had her eyes closed and her head resting on Ben's shoulder when she heard her name being called. After opening her eyes to read the question on the board, she answered in a monotone, "C, give it a bottle."

"Correct." Fairy Godmother smiled and leaned forward as though Mal was a troublesome child doing something right for a change. "Again."

"You are on fire, girl!" Carlos complimented.

Mal turned her head slightly to look at him properly. "Just pick the one that doesn't sound like any fun."

Her friends _ooh_ ed.

"That makes so much sense," said Evie, starting to twirl her hair.

A girl in a pale blue dress with a big blue bow on her head entered the class. She cast a frightened look toward Mal and her friends and scurried toward Fairy Godmother at the chalkboard. The girl held a clipboard in front of Fairy Godmother.

"Hello, dear one," Fairy Godmother greeted.

"Hi." She handed the clipboard to the woman. "You need to sign off an early dismissal for the coronation."

Mal raised her head slightly to study her.

"Everyone here remembers my daughter, Jane?" Fairy Godmother wondered as she signed the form.

"Mom!" Jane shouted in fright, turning her head back to her mother. "No!" She insisted a little more quietly.

"It's okay," Fairy Godmother reassured. Placing the pen on the clipboard, she handed it to her daughter before pushing her forward. "Jane, this is everyone."

Jane staggered forward a bit timidly. "Hi," she greeted with a scared smile. The Isle children didn't say a word. "That's okay. Don't mind me. As you were." She bowed and rushed out of the room with a squeal.

Mal smirked to herself.

"Forgive Jane," pleaded Fairy Godmother. "I may have told her a few too many bedtime stories about your . . . parents." She cleared her throat. "Let's continue." She went back to the blackboard. "You find a vial of poison. Do you: A. put it in the king's wine, B. paint it on an apple," the girls shared a giggle, "or C. turn it over to the proper authorities?"

Three hands shot up. Of course, the couple didn't want to answer. They were still a little drowsy to answer so many questions at a time.

Carlos and Jay fought to be picked. Jay eventually forced Carlos's hands down so he'd be called on. "C," he answered as he shoved Carlos away. "You turn it over to the proper authorities."

"I was gonna say that," Carlos mumbled.

Jay laughed mockingly. "But I said it first!" he teased. He grabbed Carlos's head and put him in a headlock.

"Ow!" Carlos complained.

"Who said it first?" said Jay. "Who said it first?"

He and Carlos started wrestling on top of their desk.

Evie put on her lip gloss in her mirror as she was easily bored of their actions. Mal sighed. She looked up at her beloved expectantly, "Ben . . ."

With a small nod, the couple stood so Ben could separate the fighting boys. He had them by the scruffs of their necks to make them stop. They still tried to make grabs at each other, but Ben kept them apart the best he could.

"Boys," spoke Fairy Godmother. Then she said it more loudly: "Boys!"

The trio froze.

"I am going to encourage you to use that energy on the tourney field," she insisted.

"Oh, no, that's okay." Carlos denied as he sat back in his seat. "Whatever that is, we'll pass."

* * *

Before he, Jay, and Ben knew it, they were on the grassy green field just outside the school. It resembled a lacrosse field but had two cannons at the fifty-yard line that shot a constant barrage of balls across the width of it. A big sign that read GO FIGHTING KNIGHTS! overlooked it. Ben, Jay, and Carlos were barely recognizable in their tourney helmets and bucklers and multitude of pads.

The coach blew a whistle.

"Jay, Ben, offense," the referee instructed them. "Chad, you're defense!"

A handsome boy, Chad, strolled across the field. Jay and Ben stopped in their tracks to get a good look at him. "That's him?" Jay questioned quietly. "The second option?"

Ben sighed. "I'm afraid so. He'll probably try to make me lose my temper so he looks better or to get revenge. Since I'm still sleep-deprived, my fuse is going to be shorter than it usually is."

Jay scoffed at the idea. "I wouldn't expect any less from a prince like him." He spared a glance at Ben. "Don't worry, if your anger is too great for us to handle, we'll get her."

The coach blew the whistle again, and the play began. Jay was off like a shot. He ran right over Carlos, who thudded to the ground. Jay slammed his buckler into Chad for the fun of it and because he had the ball. The ball flew free and Jay scooped it up. He charged down the field into the kill zone, roaring ferociously and dodging the flying balls expertly.

Carlos, meanwhile, was trying to crawl under the barrage of balls. Ben came to his rescue, batting the balls away as he pulled Carlos to his feet.

Jay slammed the ball right into the net. The cheerleaders whooped—all except for Audrey, who was in a sour mood from the news she received yesterday. Jay threw off his helmet and did a victory dance. Then, he realized he was dancing alone. The field, he noticed, was littered with lots of penalty flags and battered, beaten, groaning players in both yellow and blue uniforms.

The other thing he noticed was Ben getting off the ground with an angry look in his eye. Jay ignored the coach when he blew his whistle. He trotted over to Ben, who was starting to march in a certain direction.

Jay placed both of his hands on both of Ben's shoulders in an attempt to stop him. "What happened?" Jay grunted as he tried to push against him. "You weren't like this seconds ago."

"Chad," Ben growled with a glare at the particular prince. "He got me from behind when I wasn't looking; hit me with the stick as hard as he could to paralyze me."

"Calm down," Jay grunted as he continued with his actions. "Your temper is making this worse."

Ben didn't listen. He continued his steps forward like a man on a mission. The other players on the field were finally seeing what was happening. ". . .her."

Jay lost his pressure slightly, but quickly strengthen it as he asked, "What?"

Through gritted teeth, Ben spoke two words as two separate sentences. "Get. Mal."

"Carlos!" Jay shouted urgently to his friend that was exhausted on the sideline. "Go get Mal! Hurry!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Despite being winded, Carlos quickly got up off the ground and ran as fast as he could to the campus like a life depended on it.

And it did.


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope you guys had a nice few days waiting for this chapter to be posted.**

 **By the way, I noticed a continuing error in the second movie that is fairly small: the lockers are different from the first movie. Only reason I noticed that is because I wondered how they opened theirs in the first movie because the lockers looked strange. In the second movie they actually look like normal lockers. I wasted like a minute of your time by mentioning that.**

 **Anyways, thank you for all the reviews and for following/favoriting this story.**

 **Also, a couple different things are going to happen in this chapter because I wanted to stick with the word length I have going for chapters. I also came up with an idea for the prologue for the sequel; I'm already thinking ahead.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Mal ran.

She should have known better when the boys went to tourney practice. She wasn't thinking about how the sport could make Ben's temper explode to a new level. She should have listened to her instincts and went with the boys. She thought about chasing after them a few minutes after they left, but she had decided against it.

And now they have to pay the consequences.

Mal and Evie had been strolling the halls when Carlos practically tackled them to the ground. He was short on breath, but he had enough to say 'Ben' and 'temper'. Mal had sprung off with the two following her a fair distance behind her.

She arrived at the tourney field in about a fourth of the time it would take an Auradonian to get their running. Mal paused momentarily to observe the scenes for a few seconds.

The players were on the field taking small cautious steps back. Ben was edging toward them slowly with a murderous glare in his eye. Jay was trying his hardest to push him away, but all that he ended up doing was creating ruts in the field. The cheerleaders were off on the sideline, cowering together in fear.

"Ben!" She shouted to get his attention.

Everyone turned their heads to her. One glimpsed at her with relief, a few stared at her in confusion, and a couple others glared at her with envy, jealousy, and hatred. Mal ignored them as she rushed onto the field.

Jay stepped away from Ben, finally letting go. However, Mal soon took his place. Instead of trying to push him back, she forced him to wrap his arms around her waist and placed both of her hands on his cheeks. Before the Auradonians could wonder what she was doing, Mal leaned up slightly to kiss him.

He stopped.

The tension eased in his arms and he stopped his advance toward the spoiled prince. He held his beloved lovingly as he kissed her back. After a few seconds, Mal pulled a couple inches away and offered a small smile. "Better?"

"Much." They shared a quick peck as Ben kept an arm around her. Ben glanced at Jay, who was rubbing his sore muscles. "Sorry," Ben apologized. "I shouldn't have let him get in my head."

Jay shook his. "Don't be. I would have done the same thing if I was in your position."

"Ben!" The coach yelled at them. "Jay! Get over here!"

The boys huffed. They knew what was happening next. They walked over to where the coach and other players were huddling together. Carlos had collapsed on the ground as he catch his breath, while Evie was standing awkwardly next to him.

"What was that?" Coach questioned with an angry tone.

Ben sighed. "I lost my temper. I didn't get any sleep last night so my fuse was shorter than usual. It didn't help that that _prince_ ," he pointed an accusing finger at Chad, "tried to make me lose it on purpose."

Chad mocked him in denial, "Did not."

Ben made a move to advance on him. Chad took a scared step back while Mal forced Ben to keep his arms around her, tightening it until he felt more at ease.

"Why is she here?" Coach motioned to Mal, who was starting to feel as awkward as Evie.

Jay stepped up to explain. "Mal's the only one that can get him to calm down when he gets like this," he began. "There's an old saying on the Isle that we go by: Anger the King, Plea for the Queen."

"Ben and Mal are the King and Queen of the Isle," Carlos pipped in in-between pants. "They got the title when they became a couple. The phrase was created to keep people safe when Ben lost his temper, which wasn't that often."

Chad had the audacity to scoff. "Sure it wasn't."

Mal glared at the prince as her eyes flashed bright green for a few seconds. "What you don't want to do is anger _me_ ," she insisted. "There's a second part to that saying."

"'Anger the King, Plea for the Queen'," Jay recited automatically. "'Anger the Queen. . .'"

Ben growled the rest threateningly, "'Be Killed by the King'."

"The second part has only been used once," Carlos continued. "And the guy was lucky he lived to tell the tale. The saying was created because of him."

"Carlos!" Mal chided. "We don't need to remember."

The coach remained silent for a few moments to think over a few ideas. "Mal, how would you like to be our manager?"

Jaws dropped. The players and cheerleaders couldn't believe the coach asked her such a thing. However, the five from the Isle didn't understand what he was asking.

"It will basically be an excuse for you to sit with the players," Coach explained when he saw her confusion. "You'll be here on the sidelines just in case Ben loses his temper while playing in a game or during practices."

Mal considered it for a few moments. "I will if Evie gets to sit with me during games."

"Deal." The coach and the 'queen' shook hands while the other were still in disbelief. "And you." Coach pointed at Carlos. "We can use your speed on the field. After a couple extra practices, you'll be good enough to play in a game."

"Alright!" Coach shouted to the players. "Let's go again!"

"Sir," Mal intervened, keeping a hold on Ben so he couldn't join the others that was going on the field. "Ben shouldn't do anything right now. If he goes back out there now, he'll just lose his temper again. He's exhausted from working out all night to tire himself out and has had about thirty minutes of sleep at the most."

Coach glanced at the 'prince' and finally noticed feint bags around the bottoms of Ben's eyes. "Alright," he relented. "You have the rest of today off, but I expect you to be well rested for tomorrow."

Ben nodded his head enthusiastically. "Don't worry, I'll be better. You'll see."

* * *

A few hours later during a break between classes, Mal, Evie, and Ben were at their lockers grabbing things for their next class. Technically, the lockers were only Mal's and Evie's as Ben's was on a completely different side of the hall. He had only followed them because his temper was still iffy, even though the incident was a while ago.

Mal had painted her locker just a few minutes before Carlos had went to get her. Most though that she would paint some kind of silhouette of her mother, but she surprised them. She had painted yet another self portrait of her and Ben. This time it was when Ben had found her that pink rose on the Isle and had placed it behind her ear.

Mal actually brought that rose with her to Auradon. It miraculously survived over a month, remaining as perfect as the first day it had been picked. Ben joked that the flower was magically enchanted as it never wilted. Mal didn't want to part with the precious rose so it was currently on her nightstand in her room. Ben has been making plans on putting the rose in a glass dome so it wouldn't get damaged.

Evie parted ways with the couple since she had a totally different class than them. Ben actually had to leave as well because he had a suit fitting for his Coronation. His parents were determined to have him in an outfit fit for an Auradonian, but what they didn't know was he planned to have Evie put an Isle touch to it.

After receiving a kiss from her beloved, Mal dug around in her locker just to waste time. She heard loud, obnoxious laughter and looked up to see Audrey and Chad. Audrey wore pink sunglasses and a pale pink sweater. Chad wore his letter jacket.

"Those kids are trouble," Chad told Audrey, pointing to Mal.

"No kidding," Audrey sneered, shooting Mal a particularly nasty look.

Mal turned away and tried to ignore them.

"We need to do something," Chad decided vengefully. "They took our crowns."

"Ben took yours," Audrey corrected. "Mal took mine. You go after him and I'll get her."

"Deal." The scheming couple turned the opposite direction of Mal and walked off.

Mal fumed as she slammed her locker shut. Did they really think she wasn't listening?

Did they really think they could challenge the Queen and King of the Isle and win?

In the midst of her thinking, Mal spied Jane passing by her. Making a split decision, she tucked her spell book under arm and followed Jane into the bathroom. She remembered the second reason why she was in Auradon: the wand. What better way to get close to it than through Jane?

Jane was alone at the bathroom mirror, looking at her short, straight brown bob. When she saw Mal enter, her eyes grew wide. She froze and then spun around.

"Hi!" greeted Mal brightly. "It's Jane, right? Always loved that name. Jane." She laughed.

"That's cool," Jane said, breaking her stare and making a beeline for the door.

Mal obstructed her way. "Don't go!"

Jane froze.

"I guess . . . I was just kind of hoping to make a friend," said Mal, putting on her most vulnerable voice. "You probably have all the friends you need, though, huh?"

"Hardly," Jane denied in a small voice.

Mal made herself sound surprised. "Really? I mean, with your mom being Fairy Godmother and headmistress. I mean, not to mention your own, um, I mean your"—she looked up and down—"personality!" She giggled kindly.

"I'd rather be pretty," Jane insisted. "Is that how Ben fell in love with you? Because of your beauty?"

Mal was quite surprised by the questions. She let a genuine smile grace her lips as she retold their story, "I found Ben on the boat over ten years ago when he went missing from Auradon. He had amnesia, but knew his name because of a letter written by his mother that was in his pocket. He promised me on that day that if he did come from Auradon, he wouldn't return without me. Eventually Ben remembered four years later when a picture of his six-year-old self was on the news network asking if anyone had seen him. Every villain knew he was the missing prince, yet they did nothing because they knew how inseparable we were and still are."

"Once I realized who he was, I panicked," Mal revealed, carefully phrasing her words. "I thought he would be taken away from me and I'd never be able to see him again. My mind wasn't on the fact that his promise could be broken. I ran off to my—as Jay calls it—'happy place' and hid from the world so no one could see me cry. Ben found me, of course, and swore again that he would never leave the Isle without me. That was when we had our first kiss, yet we didn't become a couple. We had romantic feelings before then, but never acted on it. We acted like the kiss never happened and never told anyone about it. You are the first to know.

"Three years later, he finally asked me out on a date. We were thirteen and I thought he couldn't possibly have planned something amazing for our first date. I was mistaken when he took me to my extravagantly decorated happy place with a decent meal made for us. At that moment, I realized how lucky I was to be the one that found him. We've been together for three years now. Ben likes to say that we've been together for ten because that's how long we've known each other. I act all embarrassed when he says it because that's really how long I've been in love with him; I just don't want everyone to know."

"Aw!" Jane gushed. "Your story is so sweet! And you've got great hair. I wish mine was like that."

Mal stroked her purple locks. "You know what? I have just the thing for that." She lifted her spell book and turned through the pages. "It's right . . . here!" She read from the page. " _Beware, forswear, replace the old with brand-new hair."_

With a few waves of Mal's finger, Jane suddenly had long, beautiful wavy brown locks. Jane gasped in delight as she studied her new do in the mirror.

"Wow!" Mal exclaimed. "You almost don't notice your . . . other features anymore!"

"Do my nose!" Jane begged, turning to face her with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, I can't. I wish I could." Actually, Mal could, but she wasn't going to let anyone tell her what to do. "I've been practicing, but you know, I can't do really big magic! Not like your _mom!_ With her _wand_! I mean, one _swoosh_ from that thing and you could probably have whatever features you wanted."

Jane frowned. "She doesn't use the wand anymore. She believes that _real_ magic is in books. And not the spell books. Regular books with history and stuff."

Mal laughed. "What a rip," she claimed. "You know, she used magic on Cinderella, who wasn't even her real daughter. Doesn't she love you?"

"Of course she does. It's just, you know, tough love," said Jane. "Work on the inside, not the outside. You know, that sort of thing . . ." She trailed off, looking sad.

"That's the face!" Mal pointed at Jane's sad expression. "Yeah! And then just look as if your heart is about to break." She pouted her lips and altered her voice to sound more like Jane. " _Oh, Mother, I just don't understand why you can't make me beautiful, too_." Her face broke into a grin.

"Think it would work?" Jane wondered, blinking and smiling.

"Yeah! I mean, that's what old Cindy did. And your mother. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-ed the living daylights out of _her_!"

Jane laughed.

Mal's eyes flashed. "And hey! If your mom does decide to break out the old wand . . . invite me! I just think it would be so . . . inspirational."

Jane smiled. "If I can convince Mom, you're so there!"

"Yay!" Mal cheered clapping.

Jane took her purse and left the bathroom. "Bye!"

Mal smiled, pleased with herself. "Bye."

* * *

 **I'll try to have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow. Be sure to review! Reviews make updates come quicker!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I know I said I was going to keep the length of each chapter about the same, but I wanted to make an exception with this chapter. Yes, this one is short, but it's because I wanted these few scenes in this chapter. I thought the important parts of this chapter would be lost or forgotten if I added more.**

 **And the reason I'm posting this tonight is because a little girl that's a sister to me wants me to watch her cheer at her last game tomorrow.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

In chemistry class, Evie sat next to Doug and stared longingly at Chad.

Across the lab bench, beyond the tubing, clamps pipettes, and steaming beakers, Chad was bathed in his own golden light. Evie couldn't stop gazing at him. Chad tried to see what his lab partner was writing so he could copy the notes down.

The chemistry teacher, Mr, Deley, scribbled a formula on the chalkboard.

"Any chance he's in line for a throne?" Evie asked Doug. " _Anywhere_ in line.

Doug looked up from his worksheet and lightly sighed in annoyance when he saw who she was asking about. "Chad. Prince Charming, Jr. Cinderella's son." Evie turned to look at Doug, then at Chad, and then back to Doug. "Chad was supposed to become King of Auradon before Ben returned. He inherited the charm, but not a lot of there, there. Know what I mean?"

Evie sighed adoringly as she rested her head in hand. "Looks there there to me."

"Evie," Mr. Deley called, effectively grabbing her attention away from the prince. "Perhaps this is just review for you. So tell me, what is the average atomic weight of silver?"

Evie stared at him blankly. "Atomic weight?" She repeated. "Well, it can be much. It's an atom, right?" She smiled and let out a laugh. Chad laughed, too.

Mr. Deley beckoned her forth.

Evie pocketed her mirror and strolled confidently up to the chalkboard. "Let's see." She took the chalk from the teacher, stealthily removing her mirror and speaking down into it. "How do I find the average atomic weight of silver?" She glanced at her mirror, hidden at her side, and it revealed the whole long calculation of the answer, which she copied onto the chalkboard. "That would be 106.905 times .5200 plus 108.905 times .4800, which, Mr. Delay would give us 107.9 amu." She smiled.

Chad, impressed, copied her calculation into his lab notebook.

Doug looked at Evie curiously. " _Amu?_ " he mouthed to himself.

Mr. Deley sighed. "I sighed. It's always a mistake to underestimate—"

Evie spun around in a circle, whipping the teacher with her long blue-black locks. "A villain?" she said, smiling. "Don't make it again." She threw him the chalk and flounced back toward her seat.

As she passed Chad, he slipped her a note and ogled her. When Evie sat down, she opened the note. It read MEET ME UNDER THE BLEACHERS AT 3. She looked up at Chad and nodded at him. His rested his head on his hands, and Evie did the same. They locked eyes and shared a dreamy, longing look.

Doug rested his head on his hand, too, and frowned.

* * *

Chad led Evie under the bleachers and they stood facing each other.

"Is everybody at home as pretty as you?" Chad asked her, shouldering a huge tan backpack.

Evie looked down at her shoes and blushed. "I like to think I'm fairest of them all." She batted her eyelashes and laughed. "How many rooms are in your castle?"

Chad smiled. "Too many to count."

Evie leaned in to kiss Chad. He leaned in too, but he stopped abruptly. "You _really_ nailed that chemistry problem today!" He complimented.

Evie smooched air.

"You're going to have all the nerds in love with you." He laughed.

"I'm not that smart!" Evie denied defensively.

"Oh, come on."

"No, really! I'm not," she continued to argue. "But I'm really good at sewing and cooking and cleaning. You know, like your mother, Cinderella. Without the ratty dress." She took the mirror out of her purse. "See this? If I ask it where something is, it tells me."

"Are you kidding me?" Chad snatched ot from her hand. He spoke into the mirror with a hardened, demanding voice. "Where's my cell phone?" he barked, bringing it to his ear afterwards.

Evie tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "It won't work for you, silly." She laughed to hide her nervousness.

"No biggie." Chad handed it back to her and resumed his charming act. "My dad will just get me a new one."

"Prince Charming," Evie said dreamily.

"Yeah." Chad smiled.

"And Cinderella."

"Yeah."

"Fairy Godmother." She took Chad's hands in hers. "Hey, I heard her wand is in some boring museum. Do they always leave it there?" She looked deeply into his eyes and leaned forward as if she were about to kiss him.

He started to lean in again but stopped once more. "I'd really like to talk, but"—he turned away dramatically—"I'm just swamped!" he said. "Unless . . ." He turned back to face her.

Evie perked up with a smile. "Unless?"

"If you could knock all my homework out along with yours, then maybe we could get together sometime and . . . hang." His eyebrows jumped. He took off his backpack and handed it to her.

"Okay," she said breathily, taking it.

"Thanks, babe." He winked at her before walking off.

"Bye," Evie waved dreamily

Suddenly, Doug's face appeared between the seats of the bleachers. "So how was Mal's panic attack?"

Evie jumped at the sound of his voice. She was going to chide him for stalking her, but the question caught her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Mal's panic attack," he repeated. "You know, the one she had yesterday when I took her to the boy's dorm room? Did she get over it?"

"What are you talking about?" Evie questioned forcefully, trying to play dumb. "Mal didn't have a panic attack and she's never had one."

Doug rolled his eyes as he climbed down from the bleachers and stood in front of Evie. "I know the signs of a panic attack. I used to go with people on tours of my family mines. They'd have a panic attack because they didn't realize they were claustrophobic until they were deep underground. Mal showed the obvious symptoms: her breathing quickened, she flexed her hands because they were going numb, she had chills even though it was close to eighty degrees at the time, and she probably had dizziness too because when I looked back she was stumbling."

Evie didn't hide her surprise, but she made a mental note to tell Mal that he knew. She sighed. "Fine, Mal _did_ have a panic attack, but Jay was able to calm her down."

"Does she have them often?"

"I don't know," Evie confessed, and she was telling the truth. "Mal and I didn't become friends until over a month ago. I had been castle-schooled for most of my life, so I didn't know about Ben. On my first day, I caused a panic attack because I recognized Ben from when Auradon placed his picture on the news network. She had been afraid that I was going to tell Auradon about Ben to get revenge. Of course, I didn't, but the Auradonians found him anyways."

"How does Ben or Jay calm her down?"

"They tell her to go to her happy place," Evie recalled. "After she's calm, they act like her panic attack never happened. They told me she will deny she's had one. If you try to argue with her about it, she'll have another one."

"Have they tried singing?" Doug suggested helpfully. "Just telling Mal to go to her 'happy place' won't be enough to calm her down in the future if she keeps having more. If they or even you sing to her, it will probably help her get over her fit sooner."

Evie tightened her grip on the backpack before nodding. "Alright. I'll try it, _if_ there's a next time." She motioned to the bag. "I have homework, so I'll see you later."

As Evie took a few steps toward her dorm room, Doug shouted, "You know, I too have a fascination for Fairy Godmother's wand. Maybe we can stand next to each other at Ben's coronation and discuss its attributes?"

Evie immediately stopped in her tracks and turned toward the silent dwarf's son. "Are you saying they use the wand for his coronation?"

"Yes," he claimed, before stating hopefully, "and asking you out?"

A genuine smile formed on Evie's lip. "I'll think about it," she insisted. Before returning to her usual path, she walked back to Doug and placed an innocent kiss on his cheek. "Bye, Doug."


	7. Chapter 7

**Keeping true to my promise! Here is the next chapter of this story. Just so you know, the amount of reviews I get kind of does determine how many chapters you're getting the next weekend. Just a little warning that is seven chapters late.**

 **I am sorry this took longer than expected. Not that this is a justifiable excuse, but my dad broke his foot on Wednesday so most of my attention was on him. I am sorry to say that this will be the only chapter for this weekend as of now. However, my class for Monday was cancelled so you may get a surprise chapter, but no guarantees.**

 **EXTRA: Not that any of you care, but I have started decorating the extra room in my house in a Christmas style, which also took my time away from this story. Two months away and I want Christmas to come sooner. It doesn't help that I am a December baby with my birthday being nine days before Christmas.**

 **ALSO: I had an idea of making one-shots of the month of the five waiting to go to Auradon. If you want to see that be sure to review. If I get about fifteen saying yes, I'll do that story before the sequel. There are a couple things in this story that could be in that side story.**

 **ANYWAYS: thank you for the favorite, follows, and reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **EDIT: I AM SO SORRY FOR ALL THE TYPOS I KEEP FINDING! PLEASE READ THIS CHAPTER AGAIN AFTER A WHILE.**

* * *

In Mal and Evie's dorm room, Jane and Mal spoke as Evie sewed on her machine.

The sun shone into the room and fell across Mal's sketchbook. She was lying on her bed, shading in a drawing of Beast as Jane stood clutching the bedpost.

"Mom said, ' _If a boy can't see the beauty within, then he's not worth it_ ,'" Jane mimicked in a singsong voice. "Can you believe it? What world does she live in?" She stomped angrily across the room.

Mal snickered. "Auradon," Ben muttered as he continued to play with Mal's hair. He was taking a break from his princely duties before having to suffer through the many, _many_ lessons that he missed over the years.

"Mal?" Evie held up the dress she'd been sewing. "Do you like?"

Mal looked up briefly. "Yeah," she agreed as she went back to her drawing. "It's cute. It brings out your eyes."

Evie smiled happily at her creation with pride, insisting, "I know." She started to sew again.

"I'll never have a boyfriend." Jane complained. She flopped down on Evie's bed.

"Sure you will," Mal encouraged, trying to play the role of a good friend. "Don't forget, Ben and I were in the friend zone for seven years until he finally asked me out."

"And I should have done it sooner," Ben commented, earning him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Evie gasped in sudden realization. "I forgot to do Chad's homework!" She dropped her dress and stood. "Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no!" She hurriedly grabbed the spoiled prince's backpack and sat again at her sewing desk.

"Why are you even doing it for him?" Mal interrogated, suddenly fired up. "I heard him and Audrey talking. They are planning some kind of revenge against me and Ben because they think we stole their crowns."

"Well mine was taken away too," Evie retorted as she took a binder out of the bag. "I'm not a princess here in Auradon. This is the only way I can think of to get it back. If I get burned by doing so, then it will be my fault."

Mal and Ben didn't hide their surprise at Evie's sudden attitude. "E . . ." Mal trailed off, her anger fading away.

There was a knock on the door and a girl stepped into the room. She wore a pink floral shirt with a pink sash and a short teal skirt. She sported a short bob hairstyle with bangs. "Hey, guys!" She greeted with a smile. "I heard about what happened today during practice and I thought I come check on you, Ben. From what I heard, your temper is still the same as when you left."

Mal tilted her head slightly as she tried to keep her panic down. "Does Ben know you?" She questioned.

"Probably not anymore," the girl denied. She let out a giggle once she remembered another situation involving the couple yesterday. "Don't worry. We weren't romantically involved, promised to each other, or anything like that. Although, we were best friends before he disappeared. We became friends before our parents did. I would be surprised if he remembered my name."

As she spoke, Ben did feel like he recognize the girl. He got off the bed to examine **(a/n: bad word I know)** her further.

"I'll give you a hint," she insisted with a smile. "When I got my first sword at the age of five, we used to fight each other until our parents realized what we were doing. Around that same time, I tried to stab Chip Potts when he pulled my pigtails."

Ben remembered the incident as soon as she said it. He vaguely recalled that his parents agreed to watch her while her parents were at a meeting. Mrs. Potts had pulled her son away while his father scooped the girl in his arms. He scolded her before taking the sword away.

"Lonnie!" He exclaimed. Lonnie's smile grew even larger and Ben couldn't help, but to hug her. It was just a quick embrace since he knew Mal was close to one of her panic attacks. "I can't believe I forgot about you!" Ben commented once he pulled away.

He turned to his beloved, who wasn't freaking out like he thought she would be. "Mal, this is Lonnie, my friend before I arrived at the Isle. We used to play together all the time."

"Lonnie." Ben stood next to Mal after she sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "This is my girlfriend of ten years."

Mal elbowed him playfully as she blushed. "Three years."

"That's not what you told me!" Jane teased in the same singsong tone as before.

As a response, Mal simply hid her embarrassed face in Ben's side.

"They've dated for three," Evie began to explain for the couple, not once looking up from the school work. "However, Ben likes to say ten because that's how long they've known each other. Everyone on the Isle, besides Mal's mother, approves of them."

"That's so sweet!" Lonnie cooed. "Well, the real reason why I'm here is because I love what you've done with Jane's hair and I was wondering if you would do mine." She brought out her purse. "I can pay you fifty dollars."

"You don't need to pay," Ben commented.

"But I need money for material," Evie argued glancing up. "I'm running out already and this is only our second day here."

"How about you do me a favor instead." Mal suggested as she grabbed her spell book. "Our friend, Carlos, has a fear of dogs because of his mother, Cruella. Do you think you can get him over his fear?"

"Of course!" Lonnie agreed immediately. "We have a campus mutt who would be perfect for Carlos."

"Great." Evie dropped the school work to help with the hair emergency. She stood and walked around Lonnie. "Let's see." She stopped in front of her. "I'm thinking we lose the bangs . . . maybe some layers . . . and highlights!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Lonnie continuously bobbed her head. "I want it cool." She gestured to her childhood friend's girlfriend. "Like Mal's."

Mal looked at Lonnie with her jaw dropped.

Evie laughed. "Really?" she said. "The split ends, too?"

Mal rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath. She stood and opened her spell book. "Okay . . ." she began, flipping through it. She smiled at Lonnie. " _Beware, forswear, replace the old with cool hair._ " With a few swipes of Mal's finger, Lonnie's bob transformed into long, soft brown locks.

Lonnie checked herself out in the mirror and frowned.

"I know, I know." Evie went over to her. "It looks like a mop on your head. Let's cut if off, layer it—"

"No, no, no, no!" Lonnie disagreed. "I love it!" She smiled.

"You do?" Evie frowned.

"It's just . . ." She trailed off before she ripped her skirt up the side. "Now I'm cool."

"Like ice," Mal flashed her a smile.

And with that, a little friendship was born.

Jane looked between the two and ripped her skirt up the side too. She instantly gasped. "What did I just do?" She asked herself. "Mom's going to kill me!"

Lonnie laughed at her predicament. "I better keep my end of the deal," she commented. "Let me go find Dude and I'll be right back."

"What dude?"

"The campus mutt." Lonnie smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Carlos is going to love him."

And she wasn't wrong.

Ten minutes later when Carlos came to the girls' dorm room with Jane and Ben having already left, Lonnie appeared with a golden-haired dog in her arms. Carlos had flinched away at first, but after some encouragement from the Evie and Mal, he was able to pet Dude without having a heart attack. Within a few moments, Carlos had the puppy in his arms. He sat down after a few seconds and Dude began to lick his face causing him to laugh.

Lonnie had to leave, but Evie and Mal continued to watch Carlos bond with the dog a little longer. They were glad for their friend that he was able to conquer his fear, which was one of the first things that had gone right without having to go through obstacles.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jay and Coach Jenkins were seated on the bleachers, looking over the rule book.

"I could really use a tough guy like you," said Coach Jenkins. He looked very official in a yellow tourney hat, a blue vest, and a pale-yellow T-shirt. There was a jersey slung over his shoulder. "The team's a bunch of princes, if you know what I mean." He sighed. "I hope Ben isn't like that at the game tomorrow."

"You should hope his temper isn't as bad as today," Jay insisted, closing the rule book. "He's usually fine when we played on the Isle."

That surprised the coach. "You played tourney on the Isle?"

"Our version of it." Jay shrugged. "We'd have Ben block the Gaston twins because we knew he could handle them."

"'Gaston twins'?" Coach repeated in surprise. "Did Gaston really name both of his kids after himself?"

"The twins, yes. His youngest son, no." Jay corrected. "His youngest son's name is Gil. Gaston had a fling with a pirate, who died during the delivery, so he named their son 'Gil' in honor of her. Gil spends most of his time at the docks while his brothers stayed in town. Gil and Ben are close friends, while Ben and the twins have a uh . . . mutual agreement, you could call it."

"What do you mean?"

"Basically, he doesn't start a fight with them and they don't start one with him," Jay explained, because he was the best at that. "When Mal, Ben, and I became friends with Carlos and Evie, Ben had a talk with the twins about them bullying Carlos. He told them to knock it off because Carlos already had other things to deal with besides them constantly pestering him. The twins agreed only if they got Ben's portion from the sorting that week."

"Portion of what?"

"Portion of food." Jay tilted his head curiously. "Don't you know? The Isle gets leftover food from Auradon. The shipments comes in on Saturday, Mal spends that day sorting out the food so everyone on the Isle gets an equal and fair share, and on Sunday she and Ben deliver to everyone on the Isle. They are Queen and King of the Isle after all and they have a reputation to protect."

"Well back to playing tourney on the Isle," Coach said as he purposely changed the subject. "Did Carlos happen to partake in it?"

"Only once or twice," Jay recalled after some thought. "He was most usually busy with an insane number of chores. Mal, Evie, Ben, and I helped him a few times and we were surprised that he could do it all in one day when it took the five of us five hours. When he finally got a chance to play, us three boys invented a move called 'Isle Rush'."

"'Isle Rush'." Coach shook his head in amazement. "Could you and Ben do that at the game tomorrow?"

"Carlos has to be on the field," Jay determined. "We need him for it to work."

"I'll pull some strings to make it happen," Coach Jenkins promised. "And before I forget . . ."

He took the jersey off his shoulder and held it out to Jay. It was blue and had Jay's name and the number eight on the back in gold.

With a smile, Jay took it and put it on over his leather vest. He thanked Coach Jenkins and took off down the field and back to the dorms. He threw open the door to Mal and Evie's room, whooping and showing off his jersey. Carlos whistled from where he sat with Dude on the floor, looking at something on his laptop. Evie was bending over a mountain of homework and copying two sets of answers from her magic mirror. Mal leafed through the spell book on her bed, searching for answers.

"Did your plan work with Jane?" Jay asked Mal. "Are you going over to see the wand?"

"Do you think that I would be going through every single spell in this book if I hadn't completely struck out?" snapped Mal.

Her friends exchanged looks.

"Someone is in a bad mood," Carlos muttered.

"My mom's counting on me!" Mal flicked Carlos's head. "I can't let her down and betray Ben. It's either one or the other."

"We can do this!" Jay encouraged.

His three friends stared at him.

"If we stick together," he finished.

"And we won't go back until we do," Mal insisted. "'Cause we're rotten . . ."

"To the core," they all chanted in unison.

Evie sighed reluctantly. "Now that it's just the four of us, I have some good and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Bad."

Like ripping off a bandage, she rattled off, "Doug knows about your panic attacks, Mal."

"WHAT!" Mal shouted dramatically enough to make Dude jump. "How does he know? Did you tell him?"

"Of course not!" Evie denied whole-heartedly. "He knows the signs of a panic attack because he's seen it all the time as a kid. He had asked me if you got over yours yesterday and gave some advice to help you call down quicker."

"Is he going to tell anyone?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "He doesn't seem like he's the type that would, but I did mention that you usually denied it when you had one."

They were quiet for a few seconds and the air was tense.

"Oh, yeah," Evie continued nonchalantly. "I also found out that Fairy Godmother blesses Ben with the wand at the coronation and we all get to go."

Mal's eyed widened.

"I have nothing to wear, of course." Evie rolled her eyes annoyed.

Mal looked at her incredulously.

There was a knock at the door

"What?" Evie wondered, putting on the ditsy act once again.

"Hold that thought," she told Evie as she closed her book. She got up and opened the door.

Ben stood in the hall with a small smile.

"Babe!" Mal cooed as she leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "You don't need to knock. You could have just walked in."

"I figured I be polite." Ben kissed her forehead as he sneakily wrapped an arm around her waist. "I only have a few minutes before my next lesson, but I wanted to tell you where all of you will be standing during the coronation."

"We get to go?" Mal questioned innocently.

Ben's smile grew. "Of course, you do. The whole school goes apparently. Since you're my girlfriend, you will be in the front row with my parents." He looked up at the trio. "As of now, the three of you will be in the balcony, but I'm trying to get you closer up."

"Well Doug had asked me to go with him," Evie intervened. "I haven't said yes yet, of course, but will that get me closer to Mal?"

"It's a possibility," Ben agreed. "You would be wherever he's at, though I'm not really sure where he or anyone else is placed at."

"Thanks for the heads up." Mal kissed his cheek once again as a present. "I'm feeling a little hungry so we're going to the kitchen to make a snack. Do you want me to bring you whatever I make?"

"Of course!" He stated happily. "I have to go, so I'll see you tonight and the rest of you tomorrow."

The couple shared a kiss before Ben left and Mal closed the door behind her.

"Are we really going to the kitchen?" Jay interrogated.

"Of course." She insisted. "I _am_ hungry and we need a change of scenery. Evie and I will bake while you and Carlos take turns going through the book to find a spell we can actually use!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Here is the next chapter on a beautiful yet cold Monday morning! I purposely stayed up late last night so I could get this done for you. I refused to stop typing until I was somewhat close to my usual word length.**

 **By the way, since I'm in a Christmas-y mood, I came up with an idea. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I will give one hint:**

 **'A Princess's Punishment'; 'A Thief's Love'; 'Zero Relation'/'Meeting'**

 **If anyone can guess what I'm doing, they will get a reward. I won't announce anything in this story because this story will have been finished before the idea comes into effect. I may say who got it right, but we'll see.**

 **Anyways, enough with the mystery! On to the chapter!**

* * *

Mal whisked together the ingredients for the dessert in the kitchen of the school. With Evie's help, they were able to find everything the recipe called for, except for one thing called 'chocolate morsels'—whatever that is.

Her three friends hung out around her.

"You want a treat, Dude?" Carlos asked the dog rhetorically. He pulled a snack out of the fridge and walked it over to the rust-colored pooch, who sat in a bowl on the stove top.

"Carlos!" Mal chided at the youngest boy. "You're supposed to be looking for a spell, _not_ playing with your dog."

"Jay's looking for one now," he insisted as he hoisted himself on the counter next to the pup. "I looked for ten minutes and found nothing."

Mal rolled her eyes as Evie carried over a bowl of walnuts and sprinkled a few in the dough.

Jay turned to no particular page of the book. After reading the page, he hopped down from his spot on the counter. "How about this one?" He traveled the short distance and laid the book next to Mal's bowl. "It's a sleeping potion. It says it can be disguise as perfume."

"Now _that's_ useful," Mal complimented. "We can use it to take out the Fairy Godmother and the guards."

"There's a problem with that." Jay pointed to a certain section. "One batch is only strong enough for one person. If you want to take out multiple people, you need more than one vial. Basically, each batch has a one time use."

"Can we double it?" Evie wondered.

"Reviews says they've tried," Jay denied as he continued to read. "But even if it gets doubled, it still only works for one person. Nothing can make the potion have more than one use."

"That's dumb," Carlos ridiculed.

"But we can still use it," Mal insisted. "Ben has another lesson sometime after the tourney game tomorrow so I'll sneak back here to make the potion."

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened and appeared Lonnie in bright pink floral pajamas.

"There you are, Mal!" exclaimed Lonnie, walking toward her.

Mal hid the spell book under a kitchen towel before she could see it. Just because Lonnie is friends with Mal's fiancé doesn't mean she gets to know what they're planning.

"I was looking for you! You know, all the girls want you to do their hair!" She glanced at Jay in surprise. "And you are . . . ?"

"Jay." He introduced himself before he tossed his hair and gave Lonnie his most dashing smile. "And you are beau-ti-ful!"

Lonnie rolled her eyes. "Better watch out Jay," Mal warned half-heartedly. "She's the daughter of Shang and Mulan. She's been sword fighting since she was five."

Jay smiled flirtingly at her. "Maybe you and I can spar against each other one day."

"Maybe when you get rid of your playboy attitude," Lonnie retorted with another eye roll. "I know plenty of princes that play the same act as you do and it is ridiculous that girls fall for it."

Mal tilted her head. "Do we know any of them?"

Lonnie thought about it for a few seconds. "Chad Charming is at the top of the list," she deduced. "I found his phone a couple weeks ago and he was texting at least seven girls at a time."

Mal turned to Evie with a raised eyebrow that said 'See?'

"I don't want to hear it M," Evie snapped aggressively. "Like I said, my fault if I get burned."

Wanting to change the subject, Lonnie peered at the bowl in front of Mal. "Midnight snack, huh? Whatcha guys making?"

"Nothing special. Just cookies." Mal casually shrugged her shoulders. "I was feeling a little hungry and figured Ben needed something sweet for being put through the nonstop torturous lessons." She gazed at the recipe once again. "Would you happen to know what 'chocolate morsels' are?"

Lonnie zoned out for a couple moments until she perked up. "Oh!" She shouted happily. "That's just a fancy name for chips." She headed over to the refrigerator and opened the door.

"And those are . . . ?"

"Chocolate chips" Lonnie pulled out a bowl of the dark sweets before closing the door. "Just _the_ most important food group." She set the bowl down on the table. She sprinkled the chips in the dough causing the girls and Jay to stare at the new content in the bowl.

Once she noticed their blank stares, Lonnie started to get curious. "Wait. Didn't your moms ever make you guys chocolate chip cookies?" The stares were still blank, so she went on to explain, "Like, when you're feeling sad, and they're fresh from the oven, with a big old glass of milk, and she just makes you laugh and puts everything into perspective and..." She trailed off when she saw the mystified looks they were giving her. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Mal adverted her gaze with a shake of her head and continued to stir the batter. "It's just different where we're from."

The daughter of Mulan looked at the others, before insisting, "Yeah, I know. I just, you know, I thought... even villains love their kids."

Mal and her friends did not look at one another.

Three were lost in a real glimpse of what they'd been missing. The fourth imagined a life if she didn't have a certain someone in her life.

"Lonnie . . ." Mal began slowly and reluctantly. "I'm most likely the _only_ child of a villain that knows what love feels like, but only because of Ben. Our parents showed us _no_ love."

"Oh..." Lonnie trailed off. Tears welled in her eyes at the thought. "How awful." She touched Mal's hands in a comforting way. Mal watched as a fat tear rolled down Lonnie's cheek.

Mal quickly wiped the tear off Lonnie's cheek and casually flicked it toward the ground. "Yeah, well, big bummer, but we have to get these into the oven, so thank you so much for coming by." She started to guide Lonnie to the door. "Really, really have a good night."

Evie mixed the dough furiously.

"See you tomorrow. Evil dreams!" Mal called, waving.

"Good night!" Lonnie shouted to the group, ducking out of the kitchen.

Mal turned toward her friends. "Okay!" She clapped. "Boys, cookie sheets! Evie, oven!"

They loaded the dough onto the sheets and waited till the cookies were done and cooled before transferring them to a baggie. Of course, Jay and Carlos ate over half the batch while waiting for the ones in the oven. Evie managed to swipe a couple before they could eat them all and Mal only had one so that her beloved could have at least one to try.

The four headed to their three separate rooms for sleep.

* * *

"Jay and Carlos are such pigs!" Mal complained after Ben ate his cookie. "I told them four or five times to stop eating but they didn't! I could barely save you that one."

As of now, Mal and Ben were chilling in their—technically Ben's—bed, trying to catch each other up on what they missed. Mal had had no idea where she was supposed to go, but lucky for her she ran into Ben who guided her to their—his—room.

"Well it tastes delicious." Ben complimented, kissing his beloved's forehead. "While you were cooking, I had to spend over an hour on a lesson on _bowing_."

Mal chuckled as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Seriously? How can that take up an hour?"

"Apparently there are multiple different types of bows," he informed, knowing that she really didn't care. "For example, bowing to the Sultan and Sultana would be different than, say, bowing to the Emperor. Each kingdom that makes up Auradon has a certain bow they use to address their monarch. I had to practice every bow and now my parents want me to come up with my own."

Mal adjusted her head slightly to look at him better. "But we don't have a bow for our Isle titles. Do we need one?"

"How about you come up with one since you're more respected?" Ben suggested with a smile. "That way when you introduce yourself as 'Queen of the Isle', the other monarchs have to do your bow to you."

Mal smiled at the thought. "I like that idea. I'll come up with something before my big camera appearance. What were your other lessons?"

"They tried teaching me how to slow dance."

Mal raised her head along with an eyebrow. "But you already know how to slow dance. That's literally the only dance we did when going to the parties on the Isle."

"I tried telling them that," Ben insisted with a sigh. "My instructor had me dance with my mother—since they knew I wouldn't dance with any other girl beside her and you. They didn't like how I danced slower than the beat of the music and my moves were too loose. Apparently, the correct way is to move with the beat. I made the offhand remark that _my_ way was correct on the Isle and saw no need to change it. Mother had to calm me down before I had another temper fit."

Mal laid her head back down as she stared at the ceiling. "When am I going to meet your parents?" she wondered.

"Some time soon," he promised with a kiss on top of the head. "They want to wait until Family Day, but gave no further details about it."

"'Family Day'?" Mal snarled her nose. "What's that?"

"An event the school puts on every few months," he explained. "The students' parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. come visit them at the school. It's supposed to be this big grand event that's happening Saturday _morning_."

"Saturday!" Mal sighed, annoyed. "But we have to sort out the shipment before it is sent to Auradon. There's no way you and I can get it done and be on time to the event. We'd have to get up at like five that morning!"

"That's another thing." Ben groaned dramatically. "Some of the students are doing a small song and dance at the beginning of the event. Fairy Godmother wants _me_ to participate in it to get myself out there with the parents. It will also be like my first on camera appearance."

"What song are you doing?"

"'Be Our Guest'," Ben recalled with a laugh. "Lumiere sung the song to my mother over twenty years ago, yet I don't know a single lyric. Doug is supposed to help me learn some of the words before I practice with the group before the game tomorrow. With the trouble I had with slow dancing, I doubt I do the dance the others do."

Mal stayed silent as she remembered something. "Doug knows."

"Knows about what?"

"My panic attacks," she simplified. "Apparently he asked Evie about the one I had yesterday. He knows the signs of panic attacks. When you talk to him tomorrow, can you ask him not to tell anyone?"

"Anything for you, my Queen." Ben kissed her forehead one last time. "Don't worry. He's not the type to tell people something like that."

Ben was right.

 _Doug_ wasn't the one they had to worry about.

* * *

 **Just gonna end this chapter right here with a cliffhanger. Who do think tells? Leave a guess in a review and the answer will be revealed in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good day at work, school, or chillin at home!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Are you ready for the big reveal? I know I am ready for your reactions!**

 **I couldn't wait for the weekend so I decided to post this one early.**

 **Everyone had really good guesses. A couple people had a guess, but they misinterpreted what happened. I said Doug wasn't the one they needed to worry about, not that somebody overheard a conversation. Someone thought Jane knew and told, but that's incorrect. As of now, Jane does not know about Mal's panic attacks.**

 **With all the guesses, only one was correct. Shelleymh had guessed correctly, so this chapter is dedicated to them.**

 **Be sure to review what you thought about the reveal, because I can't wait to see what you thought.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

The next morning, Mal and Jay walked through the school and outside by the lockers, following Chad and Audrey at a careful distance. Ben had already left with Doug to learn the words to the song. The tourney game would begin in a little over an hour giving the couple no time to see each other before then. Evie and Carlos trailed a short distance behind them as they chatted in hushed whispers. Their conversation seemed to be intense and serious, making Mal and Jay not want to get involved.

A group of girls with fun, edgy hairdos were hanging out at a picnic table nearby. When they saw Mal, they waved and pointed to their new looks. Mal waved back at them and opened her locker. Jay noticed Mal pulling out her spell book and flipping through the pages again.

"Are you feeling kind of weird about this?" he asked her as he leaned against her locker. "I mean, it's not so bad here." He laughed.

Mal faced him. "Are you insane? Long live evil!" She shook her fist. "You're mean! You're awful!" She pointed a finger. "You're _bad_ news! Snap out of it!" She snapped twice.

"But what do you plan on doing with Ben?" He questioned all seriously. "Are you going to betray him?"

"Yes," she agreed too quickly. "But as you and I know, all villains' plans end up failing. Somehow our plan will be foiled and I won't have to use the wand against Ben. If our plans do fail, I'll take the blame and be sent either back to the Isle or to some kind of prison cell here until granted amnesty."

Jay stared at her in astonishment. "You've really thought everything through."

"I'm betraying my true love," Mal insisted defensively. "I have to think of every scenario if it goes wrong or if it goes right."

"Then why do it if he's your true love?"

"Because I fear my mother more than I love Ben." Mal retorted. "If it changes, which I doubt it will, I will stop plotting for the wand."

Jay shook his head and walked toward the picnic table of girls, who ran over to him. "Hello," he greeted them with a smile. "The name's Jay. Y'all going to the tourney game today?" The girls giggled flirtatiously.

"Do you think they actually paid for those?" Mal heard Audrey questioned Chad, gesturing to the girls' new hairstyles. "She did it to Jane's hair too, and Fairy Godmother's not happy about it. Isn't that breaking the rules?"

"Of course, it is," Chad agreed as he glared at the 'VKs', as the duo had started calling them. "Any kind of magic is against the rules."

"It's gateway magic!" Audrey squabbled, her voice going to a whisper at 'magic'. "Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it's the lips, the legs, the clothes, and then everybody looks good and then..." She gestured to herself, asking in a baby tone, "Where will I be?"

Chad smiled mischievously at the princess. "Don't worry. I have some dirt on Mal that's going to help us take her down—maybe even permanently."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ben and Doug were at the rehearsal a few minutes early making them the only ones there. Doug tried his hardest to teach the Isle King some of the words to the song, but so far, he could only say the intro without stumbling over his words. Doug suggested talking to Lumiere—who had planned the performance, about being the hype-man.

"Before everyone gets here," Ben began slowly, "I need to talk to you about something, if you don't mind."

"Not at all!" Doug exclaimed cheerfully. "Do you need help with homework? Having trouble in a class? Or do you need help with your slow dancing lessons? I won't say I'm the best dancer, but I can teach you an easier and simpler way than your instructor."

"That's not it," Ben denied. "Although, I will have to take you up on the dance lessons. My instructor doesn't like how I dance, mainly because I learned it while on the Isle."

Ben shook his head to get back on track. "Anyways," he sighed before reluctantly insisting, "it's about my Mal."

Doug wasn't surprised. He knew what was coming, but instead wondered, "What about her? Do you need help coming up with a date for her here in Auradon? I know this amazingly secluded place by the Enchanted Lake that will give you some privacy from paparazzi or anyone else you're trying to hide from."

Ben observed the helpful teen a little more appreciatively. "No, but I'm definitely going to have you show me where that is later." He sighed reluctantly. "Have you told anyone about her problem?"

Doug shook his head vigorously. "Of course not. I figured she and the rest of her friends were defensive about it, so I kept quiet about the incident. The only time I said anything was to Evie yesterday when I asked if Mal got over it. I was worried because her signs seemed more severe than others'. I gave some advice to help get Mal over one of her fits quicker."

"Which was?"

"Try singing to her," the band 'nerd' suggested helpfully. "I sung to those that had panic attacks in my family mines and they calmed down enough to leave. People with claustrophobia really shouldn't take tours of caves. Happens all the time because they never think twice about their fear of tight spaces."

"What do you usually sing?"

"My family's mining song 'Heigh-Ho'." Doug revealed with a shrug. "It's the first one I could think of and it fits with the situation they're in. With Mal, I suggest something soothing and familiar; a song she will or can sing along to when she's back to normal. Do you know a song that could work?"

Ben laughed at the irony at his next statement. "Actually, I do. It's Aurora's song 'Once Upon a Dream'. Mal sings it to me sometimes when I'm mad but not _mad_ mad to cheer me up. Sometimes I sing it to her when she has trouble sleeping at night. Maybe it _could_ soothe her when she has one of fits."

"It's worth a shot," Doug encouraged. "Let's hope you won't need to any time soon. And don't worry, I promise I won't say anything to anyone eabout her condition. In fact, I'll act like this conversation never happened if you want me to."

That was very kind and generous of him.

Too bad somebody already let the secret out.

* * *

Hold on a sec. . .

You missed the most important part on this chapter!

Let's move this story back about half an hour before school actually began.

Evie had been excited about seeing Chad before class. Yes, they were mainly meeting so Evie could give Chad his homework that she did for him. However, she was optimistic that it would be a perfect opportunity to talk more and get to know one another. Who know? Maybe she could get the King of Auradon candidate to finally kiss her.

Evie didn't think twice when Chad had her meet him behind the bleachers once again. She hadn't realized at the time he only did that so others couldn't see him talking to her. She greeted him with her beautiful smile while he plastered an incredibly fake one on his face.

"Here you go!" Evie handed over the backpack with a cheerful attitude. "All the homework is finished and done correctly. You shouldn't get anything below an 'A' on all of these assignments."

Chad took his binder from the bag and flipped through the pages to make sure she had indeed done the work. His smile turned a little more genuine, but it had the sense of greed. "Thanks, babe," Chad thanked as he shoved the work back in his bag, not really caring about the time and effort it took to complete it. "Now we have a few minutes to talk."

Evie hid her inner joy pretty well. Biting her lip to keep her composure, she wondered, "What do you want to talk about?"

Chad pretended to think about it for a few seconds. "Well I would like to know more about Mal."

Evie didn't hide her surprise. " _'Mal'_!" She repeated incredulously and frustratedly. "Why do you want to talk about her? Wouldn't you want to get to know me? Your 'babe'?"

"Of course, I do," he fibbed incredibly well as he reluctantly held her hand. "But she and Ben had taken away mine and Audrey's crown."

"But it wasn't yours," Evie argued hesitantly. She knew she shouldn't have, but the crown was never theirs to begin with. "If Ben hadn't disappeared from Auradon, the crown would be his."

"To be fair _babe_ ," Chad began stubbornly, "you wouldn't be here in Auradon either."

She shook her head just as stubbornly in denial. "You don't know that."

"And neither do you." Chad paused before deciding on a different approach, a more personal one. "Think about it babe, if Ben hadn't insisted on you coming here as well, your 'princess' title wouldn't be taken away."

"I _am_ a princess."

"On the Isle," he retorted. "Here, you're just another average citizen with no royal status. If you can give me some kind of leverage against Mal, the three of us can get our crowns back. Is there anything about her that can help us?"

Evie hesitated. She was torn. On one hand, she respected Mal and wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt her. Then again, Mal has been getting on to her more and more since being there in Auradon even when she has done nothing. Maybe . . . screw it.

"I've known Mal for a little over a month," Evie began without thinking about it. "I don't know much about her, but I do know one thing. She has these periodic panic attacks."

Chad's eyes widened in both surprise and success. "Panic attacks," he repeated slowly. "How does she get them? How long has she had them?"

"I don't know," Evie admitted with a shrug. "Like I said, I've only known her for a little over a month. In that time, she has had about five that I know of; one on my first day at Dragon Hall, three during the month we were wasting to come here, and the fifth was our first day in Auradon. That one was because she found out Ben was in an arranged marriage with Audrey. Actually, Mal had her first panic attack that I've witnessed when I recognized Ben, because I didn't know who he was at the time."

"Why keep it a secret?"

Evie shrugged once again. "It's kind of like how everybody has a weakness they want to keep hidden. Mal's is her panic attacks. She wanted to keep it a secret from people here in Auradon so no one could exploit it. I'm pretty sure everyone on the Isle knows about her panic attacks. Usually, they go find Ben or Jay when she has one because most don't know what to do. Ben can calm her down quicker and better than anyone else."

The prince was silent for a few moments. "So Ben is the reason behind the panic attacks." Chad deduced as he thought of a plan, which would take place a few chapters later.

"Well I wouldn't say he's the reason—"

"Thanks, babe." Chad shouldered his backpack with a smile. "This is going to help us out a lot. I have to get to class, but we'll talk later, 'k?"

Evie opened her mouth to say something, but he was already halfway back to school. The color drained from her face and dread filled its place as she realized what she had just done.

* * *

"Evie."

Evie snapped herself out of her trance to look at Carlos. She told him what happened and was trying to figure out what to do. Evie trusted him more than she did anyone else. They talked while Jay flirted with a group of girls and Mal flipped through her spell book at her locker.

"You need to tell her before it's too late," he insisted firmly yet comfortingly. "If you wait, Chad might try something before you know it."

Evie nodded in agreement. "I'll tell her," she promised in a low whisper before adding, " _after_ the tourney game. She needs to focus on keeping Ben calm. She can't do that if she's on edge and Ben will notice something is wrong with her. He'll lose his temper and get kicked off the team before the game even starts. Besides, there's no way Chad can plan something before then."

Carlos gave her a sympathetic look. "Let's hope you're right."

* * *

 **And there you have it folks! I'll try to have another chapter up this weekend, but I have four assignments due on Monday that I haven't started yet. Please be sure to review! As I said before, I want to know your reactions!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I loved reading everybody's review for the last chapter. I read them the morning after I posted and it made my day a whole lot more cheerful. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

 **Let's just say, we get some justice here.**

 **Also, while thinking about future chapters, I came up with a super sweet idea for this story and a sad one for the sequel. It may be a good idea, but then again it might not be. A small hint though, it involves Gil.**

 **On with the chapter!**

* * *

On the tourney field, the Fighting Knights and the Sherwood Falcons were tied—the first time in years.

The scoreboard read 2:2 with forty-seven seconds left on the clock. Cheerleaders, including Audrey, clapped, chanted, and danced. Jane, the mascot, in a knight's suit of armor, jumped up and down with them. An announcer stood on the field with a golden microphone, as the teams got into their huddles and took up position along the kill zones.

Evie sat next to Jay and Carlos on the bench while Mal stood next to Coach Jenkins, concerningly watching Ben.

Since Mal and Evie couldn't sit on the sidelines in their usual outfits, Coach had brought the girls jerseys to wear so the referee or the other team's coach couldn't get them in trouble. It was basically the same thing as the boys had to wear, however, they had only one with the word 'manager' on it. Evie's was the manager jersey while Mal received Ben's away game jersey. It had the inverse color scheme of the original, meaning it was gold with Ben's name and the number seven in gold.

Anyways, Ben had been put in the game the whole time, not once being pulled out to take a break. The only time he could catch his breath was when Coach called a time-out. There were a few instances where someone would knock him down pretty hard. They'd apologize immediately, but Ben would laugh as he stood back up. The first time, he insisted he could handle it because—on the Isle—he would have to block the Gaston twins since he was the only one strong enough. They were probably watching right now from the Isle and calling him a wimp.

The second time, Ben started to get annoyed. That time, it seemed like they were doing it on purpose. They had apologized again and Ben forcefully laughed it off once more. This last time—the seventh time—someone tripped him and he banged his head hard against the ground.

The game paused for a few minutes as Coach Jenkins and the ref went to check on him. After a minute passed, Coach called Mal over. She ran over and did her routine. He seemed to have no physical injuries, but he complained about having a pounding headache. Coach was going to pull him out since he had a possible concussion, but Ben practically begged to stay in the game since there was less than a minute left.

Before the game could begin again, Lonnie ran over to the coach with a phone in hand. She handed him the device and he looked at the screen.

A video began to play of Chad and two other players on the opposite team. Those two players were the ones that kept knocking Ben down. Chad had handed the players a wad of cash and told them they would get the rest if they could get Ben out of the game or make him lose his temper.

Coach Jenkin's face turned red with rage.

He shouted for a time out before the next play started. The players stayed on the field, unsure what was going on as Jenkins marched over to the other coach. They watched the video together before having a heated discussion. Neither one was mad at the other. They were simply deciding on what they should do to their players as punishment. After coming to an agreement and shaking hands, the coaches called their players to their respective places on the sideline.

Chad, clearly confused, jogged over to the coach.

"Go to the bench!" Coach Jenkins loudly ordered as he forcefully took away the teen's tourney stick and shield. "You're out of the game!"

Everyone in the audience gasped at the announcement. Chad's face paled as he started to worry. "But Coach," he began pleadingly as he tried to act innocent, "what did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did." Coach barked. "How dare you pay to have your teammate injured and lose their temper? We'll discuss your punishment after the game. Just know that as of now, I'm considering kicking you off the team."

"But Coach!" Chad whined. "If you pull me out, there's no way we'll win! Besides, I'm team captain!"

"How can I forget with you reminding me every few minutes?" Coach Jenkins motioned to the bench.  
"You heard what I said." He turned to Jay and Carlos with an encouraging smile, despite his previous anger. "You're up."

Carlos's face paled as much as Chad's had. "Me?" He pointed to himself. "But I'm not that good."

"Don't worry, bro." Jay encouraged with a smile of his own. "I got your back."

"How about my front?" Carlos gulped.

Jay laughed and gave him a friendly noogie.

Jay and Carlos trotted out onto the field and took their positions.

"Well, will you look at this!" The announcer exclaimed after he caught on to what had happened. "The coach brought that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Carlos who can barely hold a shield!"

Chad begrudgingly sat on the bench next to Evie, who was too tense for her own good.

"Audrey and I came up with a plan," he muttered to the Isle princess so no one else could hear. "We're doing it on Family Day. Are you in or are you out?"

Evie kept her eyes on her friends as they played on the field. "Out," she claimed after a few moments.

"What?" Chad turned to her in surprise. "Don't you want revenge too?"

She shook her head in denial. "Anger the King, Plea for the Queen," Evie recited. "Anger the Queen . . ." She glared at Chad with a fire in her eyes. "Be Killed by the King." Evie stood defiantly. "I _don't_ want to be killed by my king."

She walked and stood next to Mal, knowing she made the right decision.

* * *

"23 seconds left," boomed the announcer. "You could cut the tension with a sword."

"Isle Rush," Jay stated to an out of breath Ben and a more confident Carlos. "This time, Carlos, you will knock the ball up and Ben, you'll score instead of me."

"I can handle your weight," Ben argued in between breaths.

"And I don't doubt that," Jay reasoned calmly, because they all knew Ben could have a temper fit at any moment. "But I think it would impress Auradon and the Isle if their king scored the winning goal. From what I heard, it's been years since Auradon Prep lost the trophy. Who better to get it back than the future king?"

The next play began.

The long ball was passed to Jay, who leaped and ran with it down the field. Jay dished the ball off to Ben. Carlos, with a big block, went down. Jay ran through the kill zone and picked up Carlos. They were hammered by dragon fire. Jay did another hurdling maneuver midfield and ran until he was in the clear and could get the ball again.

"Jay!" called Carlos, who stood in front of the goal.

Jay whipped the ball his way. The ball bounced off Carlos's shield and flew high in the sky. Carlos crouched down so Jay could jump over him. When Jay did so, he did a tumble so he'd be kneeling. Ben came running at the speed he could muster, stepped onto Jay's back, and used the momentum to jump up and shoot the ball in the goal. The goalie couldn't reach the ball in time as it shot into the net. Ben had scored.

The Knights had won.

In the stands, the crowd cheered, roared, and went wild. Mal held her ears from the nose. Even though she was down on the sideline, the noise was incredibly loud.

"What a team!" The announcer complimented, "Incredible! And it's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the once missing prince for the win. What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever! Here they come folks, the winners—"

Ben grabbed the microphone out of the announcer's hands. "Excuse me!" He shouted into the mic. "Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please?"

The crowd went silent.

He stood on the dragon cannon. "There's something I'd like to say."

Mal watched him with curiosity.

Ben surveyed his captive audience. "As you all know, I've been missing from Auradon for ten years," he stated. "I am to be inducted as king within this upcoming week. I was told in one of my many _many_ lessons that I have to choose someone to 'escort' for the coronation. What better way to do so by asking in front of a crowd?"

Mal's eyes widened as their gazes met.

He smiled. "Mal," he gestured to her. "Will you come up here for a sec?"

With a blush prominent on her cheek and a push from Evie, Mal reluctantly made the walk to him as all eyes were on her. After climbing onto the dragon cannon next to him, Ben continued his speech. "Everyone on the Isle knows our story," he acknowledged. "And although it seems repetitive to explain our story to the audience, I guess I will do so since they don't know."

"You found me ten years ago," he began, "on the Isle of the Lost, unconscious in the boat. When I woke up and saw you, I thought I had met the most beautiful girl in the world."

Mal's blush grew as the audience cooed at Ben's statement.

"You showed me kindness when you had no idea who I was," he continued. "And to be fair, I had no idea who I was either until four years later. You ran off not because you had discovered I was the missing prince, but because you were afraid I'd leave and never be able to see me again. I found you in the matter of minutes and promised I wouldn't leave the Isle without you. Ten years old and we were inseparable.

"I kept true to my promise of course," he informed the audience. "Then, once we had turned thirteen, I finally had the courage to ask you out on a date. I had been so happy when you said yes without even thinking about it. Soon, we were given a title by the villagers—Queen and King of the Isle. Mal has more of the respect since she was born on the Isle, but I think it's safe to say I gave her a run for her money."

Mal slapped his arm at the joke, half hoping that it hurt.

"I know I'm rambling, so I'll get to the point." Ben held her hand affectionately with his free one. "Mal, will you—"

Ben was cut off when Audrey abruptly marched over—dragging Chad behind her—and forcefully snatching the microphone out of his hand. "Chad's my boyfriend now!" she announced, draping her around Chad. "And I'm going to the coronation with him. So I don't need your pity date." She smiled and kissed Chad firmly on the lips.

From the sidelines, Evie placed her hands on her hips and looked away.

Ben grabbed the mic back. "As I was saying," he turned back to his beloved. "Mal, Queen of the Isle, will go to the coronation with me?"

Mal smiled. "How could I say no?"

The couple kissed in celebration, which was way less forceful than the former couple. People in the stands cheered.

Audrey huffed, and she and Chad stormed off.

Jay appeared beside Ben. "Come on, man. The whole team's waiting for you."

Although he was reluctant to go, Mal gave him a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up. "You better go," she insisted. "I'm going to try to cheer up Evie."

With one last kiss, Mal walked back to the sidelines to her awfully upset best friend.

"Like I said," Evie began once Mal was next to her. "It's my fault I was burned. I should have listened to you and Lonnie."

"You know what?" Mal asked rhetorically. "I feel _really_ sorry for Audrey."

Evie looked surprised. "You do?"

"Yeah. I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew how to sew and do triple flips, then she wouldn't need a prince to make her better about herself."

Evie chuckled softly and smiled. "I guess I am kind of gifted."

"Kind of," Mal teased, smiling.

Evie laughed and beamed at Mal. "Thanks, M."

"What a victory," the announcer announced, "What a day for the Auradon Knights, finally winning back the trophy after so many years." Jay was lifted up in the air with a giant trophy in his hands. "And there he is. Jay, the most valuable player. How do you like that?"

Evie sighed as she watched the happy scene on the field. "M," she began glancing at her friend apologetically, "there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! My friend's birthday is tomorrow and I have a few assignments due on Monday, so I won't be able to add another chapter this weekend. Be sure to review!**


	11. Bonus Chapter 1

**Bonus Chapter!**

 **I had gotten a review saying today (October 20th) is also their birthday. Well I'm not celebrating my friend's birthday until later on in the day and I wanted to be nice.**

 **WinxStarDracoFire** **, this is for you!**

 **I already had an idea to do something like this, and so what better way to debut it than as a gift? For what I have planned so far, there will be three bonus chapters.**

 **Rules of Bonus Chapters:**

 **One: There will be no set length like normal chapters. It can be as long or as short as needed. For example, this chapter will be short, but a future bonus chapter will be long.**

 **Two: Every bonus chapter will take place on the Isle of the Lost.**

 **Three: Characters from the second movie along with a duo that makes a brief appearance in 'Raised on the Isle' will be the main focus in the bonus chapters. Other characters will make an appearance as well, but they won't have that much on an influence.**

 **Four: One person will be the main character of these chapters as it will be in their perspective. I gave you a hint in the last chapter if you read the author's note.**

 **Five: These bonus chapters won't be up at random intervals. Once you read this chapter, you'll figure out when the other chapters will appear.**

 **If you don't like this chapter, then I am truly sorry, but I thought these bonus chapters would be an adorable and sweet idea. Also I am sorry for the long author's note.**

 **Alright! That about covers it, so let's get this chapter started!**

* * *

"Gil."

Gil, the youngest son of Gaston, looked up from his plate of food to see his brothers Gaston Jr. and Gaston III standing on the other side of the table. As of now they were in Ursula's Fish and Chips restaurant where the pirates usually have their meals.

Gil liked to spend most of his time there because of his late mother. The only thing he knew about her was the fact that she was a pirate and had blonde hair, which was why Gil had blonde hair while his brothers' were dark like their father's. His brothers didn't like to be at this side of the isle because it reminded them of their 'step'-mother. From what they told Gil, she was especially kind and sweet to them before she passed.

In case you haven't caught on, Gil and his brothers are only half-brothers. Same father, different mother. The twins'—or is it twin's?—mother had passed the same way Gil's did, after delivery. Although he had never admitted it, their father cared about Gil's mother more than the twins'—twin's.

Gaston Jr. motioned to the door with his chin. "The tourney game in Auradon is starting soon. Their broadcasting it on the Auradon News Network. You want to watch?"

Gil shrugged as he took another bite out of his meal. "I really don't care for tourney. You know that. I only watched you and the others play it here so I could cheer for you two and Ben."

Gaston III smiled mischievously. "We know, but what would you say if we told you Ben is playing?"

Gil didn't say anything. Instead, he tossed his plate to the side, skillfully jumped over the table, and ran to the door. He stopped so he could shout over his shoulder to his brothers, "What are you waiting for? We have a tourney game to watch!"

* * *

Back at their home, Gil eagerly sat on the floor in front of their large box TV while the twins sat on the lumpy couch that could barely fit the two of them.

Their house was bigger than most, considering they have three bedrooms, but smaller than the Tremaine's who probably have dozens of rooms for the wicked step-granddaughters. The twins share a room while Gil has one to himself. Gil stays in his room most nights except for the weekends when he stayed at Ben's place. However, Ben told Gil before he left that he could stay at his place whenever he wanted.

Anyways, the tourney game began with Ben being a starter. Jay and Carlos were sitting on the sideline next to Evie, who wore a manager jersey. Mal stood next to who Gil figured was the coach, wearing the away game version of Ben's jersey.

Within the first few moments of the game, someone had knocked Ben flat on his back.

Gaston III scoffed. "What a wimp."

Ben surprised the brothers when he suddenly started laughing when the player apologized. Ben jumped to his feet and insisted he could handle it since he had to block the twins. He guessed they were watching and calling him a wimp.

Gaston Jr snickered. "He wasn't wrong."

As the game continued, the same two players were knocking Ben down every chance they got. They would apologize every time, but the trio could tell Ben was getting more and more annoyed with each one. Anyone could tell it was on purpose.

The game was momentarily paused a player tripped Ben from behind and he slammed his head on the ground. He managed to get to his knees before he clutched his head from the pain. His coach and the referee jogged over to him to check his injury. After a little bit, the coach called for Mal. She ran at full speed and then slid in front of Ben. She did her usual routine of checking the severity of his injuries as she did on the Isle.

Ben seemed to have no physical injuries, but he complained about having a pounding headache. The coach was going to pull him out since he had a possible concussion, but Ben practically begged to stay in the game since there was less than a minute left.

The game was about to resume with the teams tied 2:2 with forty-seven seconds left when the Auradon Prep coach suddenly and angrily called a time out. The main focus was on the coach who walked over to the opposing team's coach and showed him something on a strange device—Gil's brothers told him it was a cell phone. After a heated discussion, the two coaches shook hands in agreement.

The Auradon Prep coach went back to his side of the field while the opposing coach called for two of his players—the ones that had been pushing Ben down. Ben's coach called for a player who had short hair with the color slightly lighter than Gil's. They had an argument as well ending with the boy being sat on the bench and Jay and Carlos being placed on the field.

"Who is that guy?" Gil asked his brothers.

"That's Chad Charming," Gaston Jr. answered.

"He's the one that was supposed to take over as King of Auradon since Ben had 'disappeared' from the mainland," Gaston III added. "Since Ben is back at the mainland, we don't have to worry about the other guy being ruler."

With twenty-three seconds left in the game, the long ball was passed to Jay, who leaped and ran with it down the field. Jay dished the ball off to Ben. Carlos, with a big block, went down. Jay ran through the kill zone and picked up Carlos. They were hammered by dragon fire. Jay did another hurdling maneuver midfield and ran until he was in the clear and could get the ball again.

Carlos stood in front of the goal.

"They're doing it!" Gil shouted as he started to get excited. "They're doing Isle Rush!"

Jay whipped the ball Carlos's way. The ball bounced off Carlos's shield and flew high in the sky. Carlos crouched down so Jay could jump over him. When Jay did so, he did a tumble so he'd be kneeling. Ben came running at the fastest speed he could muster, stepped onto Jay's back, and used the momentum to jump up and shoot the ball in the goal. The goalie couldn't reach the ball in time as it shot into the top corner of the net. Ben had scored.

"They won!" Gil threw his arms up in happiness. "Ben won the game!"

The brothers continued to watch as Ben adorably asked an embarrassed Mal to his coronation. He was interrupted halfway through when an obnoxious girl stole the mic from him.

"And that's Audrey," Gaston III informed. "She's Queen Aurora's and King Philip's daughter. According to the news we watched yesterday, she and Ben were in an arranged marriage before he came to the Isle. They were to be married after he became king."

"Ben found out and argued with his parents about it," Gaston Jr. recalled. "He threatened to return to the Isle if they didn't call off the engagement. As you can tell, Ben got his way."

Ben stole the mic back when Audrey kissed Chad to prove a point. He went on to ask Mal to the coronation and she happily agreed. When they kissed, they got a way better reaction from the audience than the previous couple did.

They soon separated with Mal going back to the sidelines and Ben joining the rest of the team. While all the focus was on Jay—who was voted most valuable player—the camera panned to Ben for a few seconds, who looked straight at the camera and mouthed two words.

"What did he say?" Gaston Jr. wondered out loud.

Gil smiled widely for he knew exactly what was said. He repeated it with so happiness and joy in his tone—

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"Hi, brother."

* * *

 **How cute was the ending? By the way, this was way longer than I expected it to be. Be sure to leave a review and I hoped you like the present WinxStarDracoFire!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Here we are with the next chapter. It starts at a different place than you expected, just a warning. The beginning is not that good, I apologize for that, but that part of the story had to be written. I wish I could have skipped it since everyone knows it and nothing has been changed, but it is too important to _be_ skipped.**

 **Also, somebody had reviewed on another one of my stories that said Mal's technically a demigod, considering who I made her father in that story.**

 **Let's just say, I've been thinking of an idea, but you won't see it until after the third movie.**

 **Anyways, enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

In Chemistry, Evie and her classmates were taking a tough multi-page test.

Chad tried to cheat off another student, who blocked his view. Chad tried to cheat off another student, who blocked his view. Evie frowned at a hard problem. She gave up and reached for the mirror in her purse.

But it wasn't there.

"Looking for something?" Mr. Delay questioned. Evie slammed her purse shut as he revealed her mirror from behind his back.

Evie gasped, speechless.

"Thank you, Chad." Mr. Delay rested a hand on the teen's shoulder. "It's gratifying to see someone still respects the honor code.

Chad smiled smugly at her.

She glared at him in response. So this was his revenge for her not going along with his plan.

Mr. Delay rounded on Evie. "It will be my recommendation that you are expelled," he warned.

That snapped Evie from her daze, for she began to argue, "Mr. Delay, I . . ."

"But that's not fair!" Doug shouted as jumped out of his seat, disrupting the others that were pretending to take the test and coming to the rescue for Evie. "Obviously she wasn't cheating, since she didn't have that . . . whatever that is."

"It's called a magic mirror—"

"Not helping," Doug whispered to her.

"Okay, sorry." Evie nodded and bowed her head.

"Maybe she needed another pencil," he suggested to the teacher.

"Actually, I was—" Evie started.

"Really," Doug turned to her. "Don't help." He turned back to the teacher. "Please."

"Please," Evie begged, looking up at Mr. Delay.

"Well, if you can pass this test, I'll return your property and let the matter drop." Mr. Delay promised.

Evie smiled, nodding her head in agreement as Doug sighed in relief.

Chad smiled meanly at her.

She glared at him until Doug tapped her arm to get her to work on the test.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Evie was practically skipping through the picnic area trying to find Doug. She found Doug sitting at a picnic table doing his homework and eating lunch. She placed her blue Auradon Prep examination booklet in front of him. There was a 'B+' at the top corner of the booklet.

"For the first time," Evie began with a wistful tone, "it's like I'm more than just a pretty face."

Doug laughed. "Shocker, huh?" he said with a warm smile

Evie took a seat next to him. "You were pretty great in there."

"So were you," he complimented, grinning dopily.

The blue-haired fashionista smiled warmly. "Thank you, Doug." She looked down at her paper proudly. "I bet I can get an A on the next test without the mirror."

"Well, maybe we can get together more often and we'll hang out..."

"Like a date?" Evie wondered innocently, which stopped his babbling. Doug opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Evie asked a different question, "So is it too late for me to say 'yes' to going to the coronation with you?"

Before Doug could come up with the right words, Mal appeared out of nowhere walking briskly to the couple. "There you are!" She shouted at Evie once she was within hearing range. "I have been looking for you literally everywhere!"

"What's wrong?" Evie questioned, though she thought she already knew the answer.

Mal slammed her hands on the picnic table before announcing, "Ben just asked me out on"—she huffed—"a date."

Evie and Doug chuckled. Evie asked, "And what's wrong with that? He is your fia—boyfriend."

"But we're in Auradon!" Mal complained with a glare for the stumble. "On the Isle, he always came up with extravagant plans for the date. I know he's going to out-do himself here and I'm going to look pathetic compared to what he has planned."

"We can handle this." Evie told her with a devious smile. She reluctantly stood from her seat, but not before kissing Doug on the cheek. "Bye Doug." She turned to Mal. "You're looking a little pale, but I can fix that with a lip gloss and some blush—"

"No, no, no . . ." Mal repeatedly denied as the girls headed back to their dorm.

When the two girls were a few feet away, they could hear Doug cheering in the background causing Evie to smile happily at the possibilities.

* * *

Before Mal knew it, she was seated on her bed in the dorm room as Evie applied blush on her cheeks, making them rosy. She was dressed for her date in a terrific mix of punk and princess, with a scarf, dress, and leather jacket. Mal thought about placing her rose behind her ear, but she thought that she didn't know what Ben planned, it was best to leave it in his— _their_ room.

That's right! The mysterious pink rose was kept in a protective glass dome-like jar in Ben's room since that is where Mal now sleeps at. Mal joked that if any of Queen Belle's or King Beast's servants came into their room, they would get a bad sense of déjà vu and be scared that they'll suddenly turn into houseware again.

"Okay! Easy on the blush!" Mal teased. "I don't want to scare him away." She looked thoughtful and smiled giddily. "Not that I could," she added happily.

"Please." Evie smiled. "Mom taught me how to apply blush before I could talk." She carefully finished applying the color. "Always use upward strokes."

"My mom was never really big on makeup tips," Mal claimed. "I never had a sister."

"Well, now you do." Evie began dabbing red lipstick on Mal's lips. "We're gonna need all the family we can get if we don't pull this off. My mother's not a barrel of laughs when she doesn't get her way." She rolled her eyes. "Just ask Snow White."

"Are you afraid of her?" Mal wondered.

Evie hesitated. "Sometimes," she admitted. "Are you afraid of your mom?"

"I just really want her to be proud of me," Mal insisted. "She gets so angry when I disappoint her. And, yeah, she's my mom, so I know she loves me . . . in her own way. But I think I made things worse between the two of us when I fell in love with Ben all those years ago."

Evie took her hand and smiled. "Moving on," she said. "Come see."

"Are we done?" Mal asked.

"Yeah." Evie led Mal to the mirror.

Mal looked at herself and laughed.

Evie hugged her. "I know."

"I look . . ." Mal trailed off.

"Say it," Evie encouraged.

"Not hideous."

"Not even close," Evie agreed, shaking her head and beaming.

Mal giggled and broke into a radiant smile. "Thank you, Evie."

"It's the least I can do"—she sighed—"after betraying your trust."

Mal groaned at the memory of what happened after the game. "Evie, it's fine." Mal insisted for the hundredth time that day. "We've already been over this. I forgive you. I probably would have done the same thing if I was in the same position as you. At least we know they'll try to use it against me on Family Day. I'll try to lay low to prevent anything from happening. And before you ask how I could possibly forgive you." Mal smiled sincerely. "It's like you said, _we_ are sisters."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

When Mal opened the door, she looked into the face of her beloved.

Ben wore a letter jacket—making him look Auradonian—and carried two helmets. He gazed at Mal from head to toe. "For the first time," he began serenely, "I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful."

Mal's face broke into a smile. "That is the cheesiest pick up line I've ever heard."

Ben smiled as he shrugged. "It's not cheesy if it's true." He offered Mal a helmet. "I hope you like bikes."

Mal took the helmet gingerly. "Do you even know how to drive?"

"Learned in one of my many lessons." Ben chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm a pretty safe driver."

Mal shot Evie a scared look before she stepped out.

Evie smiled and closed the door, silently wishing her 'sister' good luck on her date.

* * *

Mal walked with Ben hand in hand down the hall and outside the school, where Ben's brand-new Vespa was waiting for them. She and Ben hopped onto it and sped off, cruising down a paved road. Mal, grinning ear to ear, held on to Ben's chest as they rode through the beautiful countryside. Sunlight dappled the ferns and trees, and birds chirped.

Before Mal knew it, they were slowing through a grove of tall trees. Ben parked the Vespa and kicked the stand down. He helped Mal off and began leading her through the forest and onto a suspension bridge high above a rushing stream.

"Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone," Ben said.

Mal laughed. "You know everything about me, Ben. How could I possibly tell you anything more?"

"Well how about a middle name?" He suggested. "You've never told me yours and I found out mine today."

Mal smiled as she confessed. "My middle name . . . is Bertha."

Ben chuckled. "Bertha? Really?"

She shrugged carelessly. "Just my mom doing what she does best: being really, _really_ evil." She laughed again. "Mal Bertha."

Ben smiled. "Mine's Florian."

"Florian? How princely," Mal smirked. "Oh, that's almost worse." She laughed.

"I mean, you know, it's better than _Bertha_ ," he teased, "but it's still not good."

They finished crossing the bridge.

Ben grinned at her. "Close your eyes," he requested.

Mal closed her eyes and allowed Ben to guide her down a forest path. He took her hands and pulled her gently this way and that, over logs and across puddles.

Finally, he stopped. "You ready?" he asked her.

Mal nodded slowly.

"Open."

Mal opened her eyes and gasped at the sight.

Ben had brought her to the Enchanted Lake. It was all that and more: Mal looked upon a magical lake that was the color of jade. Into the lake jutted a stone platform with a few ancient pillars wrapped in ivy with purple flowers. Mal gaped at the beauty of it. Ben smiled at her reaction.

They walked onto the platform, where a blue picnic blanket and a lavish array of food had been laid out for them, and they sat down.

Mal took a jelly doughnut and scarfed it down. She got powered sugar on her face as she finished it.

"So?" Ben smiled at her adoringly. "What do you think?"

"Mmm . . . This is really good. How did you find this place and the food? Did you ask Lumiere?" She licked the sugar off her fingers as she spoke.

Ben laughed. "Actually, Doug told me about it yesterday. He showed me this place after the tourney game and one of my lessons. He helped me make and find all this food this morning before he went to take his Chemistry test."

"So, you two have become close friends," Mal deduced.

"Not as close as Gil and I," he insisted with hint of defensiveness in his tone. "We are still brothers."

Mal smiled at the declaration. "Evie and I watched the replay of the tourney game last night before you got me for bed. We thought it was so sweet when you said 'Hi brother' to the camera. Gil must have been so happy to see it."

"I've been writing him letters," he revealed. "One every other day since we've been here. I've sent them with the Tuesday and Thursday shipment; the one's with the broken items or worn out clothing. Hopefully Gil gets all of them so he knows how much I miss my brother and write back to me." **(a/n: FORESHADOW FOR SEQUEL!)**

Ben smiled once he noticed something. "You've got a . . ." He leaned forward to brush the sugar from her lips. When that didn't work, he did the next best thing by kissing her.

Mal grinned once he pulled away. "Did you want an excuse to kiss me?" She joked. "Or did that really help?"

"Both."

She laughed. "Can't take me anywhere, I guess." Mal hesitated. "So what would you say if I told you I've seen this place before in a dream? Would you say I was crazy? Or would you believe me."

Ben chuckled. "I'd believe you because I had the same exact dream." He smiled. "It was the day Evie started Dragon Hall and we woke up because of your mother shouting at people on the streets."

"That's when I had mine too!" Mal exclaimed. "Guess we were meant to be." Her smile faded. "So how does it feel knowing you're going to be king?"

Ben gazed down.

"What?" Mal questioned.

"A crown doesn't make you a king," Ben insisted.

Mal squinted. "Well, it kind of does." She laughed.

Ben smiled. "Your mother is Mistress of Evil. I've got the poster parents for goodness," he began his explanation. "But we're not automatically like them. We get to choose who we're going to be. And right now, I can look into your eyes and I can tell you're not evil, even though I already knew that. I can see." He stared intently into Mal's eyes. His gaze seemed to bore into her soul.

Mal was afraid of what he might see in her eyes. She was afraid he might find out her secret.

Ben looked at the lake. "I'm gonna go for a swim." He stood and held out his hand. "Want to come with?"

Mal glanced at the water before adamantly shaking her head. "I can't swim," she revealed. "I'll stay here."

"Are you sure?"

"I think I'm gonna stay behind and try a strawberry." Mal grabbed one from a bowl. "I've never tried one before." She took a big bite. "Mmmmm."

Ben chuckled. "Don't eat all of them," he said. "I want to try some too."

"Okay." Mal grabbed two more.

Ben walked away while Mal continued to chow down.

When Mal looked over her shoulder, she saw he'd climbed one of the large rocks surrounding the lake and perched near its top. He looked cute, even though his swim trunks had crowns on them.

He waved at her.

Mal stood. "Are those little crowns on your shorts?" she called.

He looked down at his swim trunks. "Maybe!" he shouted back, smiling. Then, with a beastly roar, Ben cannon-balled off the rock and made a gigantic splash in the lake.

Mal's face glowed. She had a million thought in her head: she couldn't decide what was right and was wrong anymore. She was having second thoughts about carrying through with her mother's plan. Of course, she was in love with Ben. She wondered if Ben would still love her when— _if_ she were to betray him. If only she knew what her heart was telling her, she could find the way to who she was meant to be. Right then, she wasn't sure anymore. Was she truly destined for evil?

When Ben had looked into her eyes, had he really seen goodness?

Did she have a choice?

Mal realized Ben had not emerged from the lake. "Ben?" she called, scanning the surface. The water was smooth, with no trace of him. "Ben? _Ben?_ " She jumped into the lake and began walking into deeper water, looking for him. But the lake suddenly became too deep, and she thrashed around in a panic.

Ben suddenly appeared at her side and carried her back to their picnic area.

Mal sputtered and coughed. "You scared me!" She smacked his arm angrily.

Ben looked at Mal intently. "And you tried to save me."

She scoffed. "Yeah. And do you thank me? No! All I get is soaking!"

"And, uh, this fancy rock." He offered her a crystal he'd brought up from the bottom of the lake. "It's yours. You're supposed to make a wish and throw it back in the lake."

Mal chucked it into the lake, growling, then stood and walked over to sit on the picnic blanket. Ben followed her. He threw his jacket over her shoulders and sat next to her.

He touched her wet hair and held her gaze seriously.

"Mal," he began sincerely, "I am so sorry that this happened. I am sorry I made you worry. Next time I'll warn you so it doesn't happen again. I love you."

Mal's heart melted a little. Ben has said those words to her so many times before, but this time, it felt a little more special since they were there in Auradon.

"I love you too," she confessed.

They kissed to seal their love for one another. However, Ben didn't notice the tear that slipped down Mal's cheek since it blended in so well with the water dripping from her hair.

 _I'm sorry,_ she thought guiltily.


	13. Chapter 12

**Here is the next chapter! I'm getting the chapters done quicker because I have a goal of having the story done the first week of November. If not then, then by or on the seventh because that's my momma's birthday. It would be a good way to start the day.**

 **You already know what's after this chapter. That's right! Family Day! I can tell you there will be a few added scenes and more drama than the original. After Family Day, it will be Bonus Chapter 2 featuring Gil! I'll try to have Family Day up some time this weekend.**

 **By the way a character is going to make a special appearance next chapter. If anyone guesses correctly, I'll post Bonus Chapter 2 on Wednesday.**

 **Here's a hint: _he_ has made an appearance before.**

 **Anyways! On with this chapter!**

* * *

In the Remedial Goodness classroom, Fairy Godmother strolled up to Mal, Ben, and their three friends.

"Children," she called, "excuse me, um, as you know, this Saturday, tomorrow, is Family Day here at Auradon Prep. And because your parents can't come, due to . . . uh . . . distance . . . we've arranged for a special treat."

"I thought you were feeling a little home sick," Ben further explained. "So I asked Fairy Godmother to set this up."

"Well," Fairy Godmother began, "there's also something for you too."

She revealed a touch screen tablet from behind her back that had a pair of earphones connected to it. Now, Ben was confused, but Mal smiled at him. "Did you really think I didn't know what you were planning?" She teased. "You are bad at keeping secrets from me. You had your notes for this laying on the desk in our room. Once I found out what you were doing, I thought you should get the same surprise too."

Ben was even more confused, until he was handed the tablet and Gil suddenly appeared on screen. Ben perked up as a wide smile spread across his face. "Hey man!" He greeted happily, placing the ear pieces in his ears as Mal got off his lap to see her and the other three's 'surprise'. "I didn't think I'd see you!"

"Neither did I," Gil confessed almost bashfully as he adjusted himself to get more comfortable on the couch. From what Ben could see, Gil was at his house, which was quite unusual since it was Friday. He usually stays at the docks/harbor until the weekend. "But my brothers told me there was a surprise waiting for me, so I skipped school."

For those of you who may be confused or don't know, Gil attends school at Serpent Prep while Ben went to Dragon Hall. Since they couldn't see each other through the week, the two would hang out on the weekend with them staying at Ben's place—which turned into the five's hideout that you see in the sequel.

"We watched the tourney game," Gil admitted shyly. He clarified, "By 'we' I mean my brothers and I. You played pretty well, but I was getting annoyed by how much they were knocking you down."

Ben chuckled. "So was I, but everything turned out fine. They were removed from the game and Jay and Carlos was able to play for a little bit. We used Isle Rush."

"I saw that!" Gil exclaimed in a child-like behavior. "I also saw you saying hello to me."

Ben smiled. "I was hoping you did. And that reminds me, did you get my letters?"

"I did!" Gil smiled as well. "Sorry I haven't responded yet. I'm not a fast writer. I was hoping to send mine with the boat on Saturday when it goes to Auradon for the shipment."

Ben's smile grew, if that was even possible. "I can't wait."

Gil tilted his head curiously. "You seem off," he claimed. "Is everything alright?'

Ben sighed as he dropped his smile. "You know me so well." He sighed once again as he dropped his voice to a whisper. "I found out something. Something bad is going to happen at my coronation."

"Can you prevent it?"

Ben reluctantly shook his head. "I don't think I can, not unless they change their mind."

"'They'?" Gil repeated in surprise. "You mean it's more than one person?"

"From what I know, yes." Ben sighed one last time. "I'll be ready in case they do go along with it."

"Oh!" Gil suddenly shouted. "I think Dragon Hall is doing something so all their students can watch the coronation. The other children who don't attend that school is invited to join. My brothers are taking me."

Ben offered a small smile. "That's great Gil. Before I forget, will you spread the word that the shipment will already be sorted when it gets to the Isle? All they have to do is go grab their box with their name on it."

"Sure!" Before much more could be said, Gil checked the time before letting out an aggravated sigh. "Sorry, Ben, but I have to go. Uma found out I was skipping so she wants me to cover her shift at the restaurant."

"That's alright!" Ben's smile faltered slightly. "We'll talk again soon. Bye, Bro."

* * *

"And now for your surprise." Fairy Godmother walked over to a TV monitor on a cart and clicked a keyboard. A grotesque shot of Maleficent filled the entire screen.

"I don't see anything," Maleficent insisted, backing up to reveal Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella gathered around her. "Nor do I hear . . . " She trailed off.

Fairy Godmother beckoned Mal and her friends to the TV. The four obeyed reluctantly, with Carlos carrying Dude, who was dressed in a jacket similar to Carlos's. Ben, of course, had stayed in his seat to continue his conversation with Gil and to not rile up Maleficent.

"Is this thing on?" asked Maleficent. "It's broken!" She clicked away at a remote and threw it down. "I hate electronics."

"Evie!" shouted Evil Queen, watching as an image appeared on their dinky laptop. "It's Mommy!"

Evie waved at the TV monitor.

"Look how beautiful," Evil Queen complimented. "You know what they say: the poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Cruella cackled.

"Don't you mean the weeds?" Maleficent spat.

"Oh! Who's the old _bat_?" asked Cruella, pointing at the teacher.

Mal placed her hands on the woman's shoulder as she introduced, "This is Fairy Godmother."

"Still doing tricks with eggplants?" Maleficent wondered with a smirk.

"I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage!" Fairy Godmother defended herself.

"You really couldn't give Cinderella till one a.m.?" Maleficent taunted. "I mean, really. What, the little hamsters had to be back on their little wheels?"

Maleficent, Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella laughed at the joke.

"They were mice!" Fairy Godmother shouted. She turned to children for a second, looked back at the screen, whispering, 'They were mice!', and then proceeded to stand next to the monitor.

"Hi Mom!" Mal greeted, trying to act all natural.

"Mal!" Maleficent shouted a little too energetically.

Evil Queen tapped Maleficent's horns, as a reminder to calm down and be discreet.

"I m—miss you," stuttered Maleficent.

Jafar decided to add in, "You children are never far from our thoughts!" He noticed Ben in the background sitting by himself on a tablet. "Oh! Ben is back there? What's he doing?"

"Talking to Gil," Mal informed a bit uncomfortably. "They're catching up from not seeing each other for the past few days."

Jafar nodded in understanding. "Well tell him I said hello."

"Stop it," Maleficent ordered Jafar coldly. She turned and spoke to Mal. "How long must Mommy wait to see you? You know Mommy's not good at waiting."

"Ben's coronation is coming up soon," Mal. "I think probably sometime after that."

Evil Queen's face lit up. "When?" she practically demanded.

"I said I got this!" Maleficent told her. She spoke to Mal. "When?"

"Is there an echo in here?" Evil Queen questioned rhetorically.

"Sunday!" Mal answered before a fight could start. "Ten a.m."

"You sure I can't see you before that?" wondered Maleficent sweetly. "I don't know what I'll do if I don't get my hands on that magic wa—"

Evil Queen tapped Maleficent's horns again.

"You!" Maleficent corrected sweetly. "You little nugget that I love so much!"

Cruella and Evil Queen made kissy faces. Jafar rolled his eyes.

"Yes." Mal nodded solemnly. "I completely understand, Mother."

Cruella leaned over Maleficent and spoke into the monitor. "Carlos! Is that a _dog_?" She consulted the bejeweled stuffed-animal dog head on her vest. "Yes, yes, Baby, I do understand. It would make the perfect size for earmuffs." She cackled.

"He's the perfect size for a _pet_ ," shouted Carlos fiercely, hugging Dude close. "This dog loves me and I love him! And FYI, your dog is stuffed! So give it a rest!"

Cruella stroked Baby. Her lip trembled.

Meanwhile, Jafar laughed. "Oh! Burn!"

"Oh, why don't you sell a toaster, you two-bit salesman?" Cruella retorted.

"People who talk to stuffed animals shouldn't throw stones!" Jafar countered.

"Oh, well, people who toasters shouldn't use mixed metaphors!" snapped Cruella.

"Enough!" Evil Queen exclaimed.

Mal and her friends stood in front of the monitor, shifting their weight and looking at each other, embarrassed. Jay hit the keyboard. The monitor went black.

"I'm so sorry," Fairy Godmother apologized.

Jay turned to Fairy Godmother with a small smile. "Thanks for the special treat." He, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Dude headed out of the classroom, leaving Fairy Godmother behind. Ben had snuck off a few minutes earlier because he was scheduled for yet another lesson.

"M," Evie began, "what do you think our parents are going to do to us if we don't pull this off?"

Mal paused. "I think they will be quietly disappointed in us but ultimately proud of us for doing our best," she said with a smile.

"Really?" Carlos wondered with hope in his voice.

"No, I think we are definitely goners," said Mal, her smile sliding away.

They stomped back to Jay and Carlos's dorm room and began plotting. The group gathered around a table and examined Mal's sketches and a drawn diagram of the cathedral where the coronation would be taking place. Mal had drawn Xs and arrows all over it: a detailed plan of the want snatch. At the center of the map, Mal had drawn a picture of her hand reaching for the wand that Fairy Godmother held.

"I will be in the very front," Mal informed. "As of now, all of you will be up in the balcony. Carlos?"

"Okay, so I'll find our limo so we can break the barrier and get back n the island with the wand," Carlos continued.

Jay glanced at him thoughtfully.

"Perfect," said Mal. She lifted a small atomizer, which looked like a pale blue bottle of perfume, and offered it to Evie. "Evie, you will use this to take the driver out." She handed the atomizer to Evie. "Two sprays and he will be out like a light."

Mal looked at Carlos, who looked at Jay, who looked at Evie, who looked at Mal. Mal sighed, sat down at the table, and turned to a page in the spell book that read HOW TO ERASE SOMEONE'S MEMORY.

Evie peeked at what Mal was reading. "M, you want to make Ben forget you?" she asked.

"Yeah! You know, for after . . ." Mal trailed off.

Carlos sat on his bed with Dude.

Jay sat on his bed with his tourney stick.

Evie sat next to Mal.

"I've just been thinking, you know, when the villains finally do invade Auradon and begin to loot and kick everyone out of their castles . . ."

Jay spun his tourney stick.

". . . and imprison their leaders . . ." continued Mal.

Carlos absently stroked Dude's fur.

". . . and destroy all that is good and beautiful. . ."

Evie took a deep breath and stared off.

". . . Ben still being in love with me just seems a little extra. . . cruel." Mal sighed. "This way, he won't remember me and I don't have to be reminded that I betrayed someone that I love, because they won't know who I am."

Evie looked long and hard at her friend.

Mal closed her spell book and headed to her and Ben's room.

Evie followed shortly after to her room.

Jay flicked off all the lights and climbed into bed. Then he got up and walked over to his tourney trophy.

Carlos patted Dude.

In her dorm room, Evie lay in bed awake. She pulled the chemistry test out from under her pillow and reveled in the B+ again. The other bed was once again empty.

Mal was laying in bed awake next to Ben who was sound asleep. Mal stared at his sleeping figure adoringly. " _A million thoughts in my head_ ," she sang softly with a sob. " _Should I let my heart keep listening? I know it's time to say goodbye. So hard to let go . . ._ "

A tear dripped down from her face as she kissed her beloved's cheek. Mal rested her head against his shoulder and soon fell asleep—

Not knowing Ben was awake the whole time.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! Don't forget to make a guess on which character is making a special appearance next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Here we are folks! Family Day! Once again, it will probably be my longest chapter like it was in 'A Twist in Time', but that may change with the coronation chapter. As I had said in the previous chapter, many things will be added and/or changed.**

 **My idea that involved Gil will develop with this chapter. If people don't like it after this chapter, then I'm sorry, but I have an idea for the sequel that depends on it.**

 **ALSO: As stated in last chapter, a special character makes an appearance! You will find the answer close to the end of the chapter. Someone did guess correctly, so Bonus Chapter 2 will be up on my Wednesday.**

 **I hope you enjoy this dramatic chapter.**

* * *

The day had started not so well when the five children of the Isle had to wake up a few hours early to sort the shipment that would be going to the Isle. Their mood essentially perked up when they received letters and/or gifts from people on the Isle.

With Carlos, he had a few letters written by those he played tourney with on the Isle. They congratulated him on winning the game and can't wait to see him play more, especially if he's in over Chad Charming.

With Evie, she received a letter from Dizzy, the youngest daughter of Drizella. Dizzy wrote a few things in the letter. She mentioned how much she misses her 'older sister' and how pretty Evie looked at the tourney game, but definitely needed to spice up that jersey. According to Dizzy, it was too bland for a fashionista like Evie.

With Jay, he had also received letters from those he played tourney with _and_ one from his father. In the letter, Jafar wrote how proud he was of Jay for winning the game and giving up the chance to score to Ben so he'd be more respected by the Auradonians. Jafar went on to apologize for not telling him that during the video call and for the fight that occurred amongst him and Cruella. The father's last words were that whatever decision Jay makes tomorrow on the coronation, Jafar would support him one-hundred percent no matter what.

Ben, of course, had his letter from Gil that appeared to be a few pages long. Ben wanted to wait to read what his brother had to say, considering he still had to sort out the shipment and then get ready for Family Day. However, Ben had a letter and a necklace from Gil's father, Gaston.

Now I know what you're thinking: why would Ben get a letter from Gaston?

You see, _Gaston_ is actually the reason Ben survived on the Isle for so long. Once everyone found out who Ben was, Gaston defended him and kept him from getting injured by the other villains. Some villains wanted to use him as leverage to get off the island, insisting that Ben must want to leave since knowing who he truly is. However, Gaston had interjected that Ben didn't want to leave and sort of implied that Mal was the reason.

But you'll see the full incident eventually; perhaps at the coronation.

Anyways, in the letter from Gaston, he explained he was only writing it because Gil was too scared and embarrassed to. Gil had wanted to send him his bronze bull necklace and request that he'd wear it during the coronation so Gil could be with him during the event. Gil had thought against it at the last second, but Gaston decided to do so for him.

Of course, Ben immediately attached the necklace around his neck and made a silent vow not to take it off.

Finally, we have Mal who didn't receive a long drawn out letter. Instead, she had a garment bag from Lady Tremaine. Once she unzipped the bag, she squealed with glee.

Lady Tremaine had sent Mal's dress—a beautiful purple knee length dress with a black lace bodice and a ruffled skirt—and Mal and Ben's crowns, which had been made by Dizzy. Mal's crown was actually a metal rose thorn tiara while Ben's was a more masculine version of it, considering Mal had more power than Ben. There was a note attached to the crowns that read _What's a royal without their crown?_

Of course, Mal and Ben had to wear their crowns as they were doing the sorting—which took a lot less time since Jay, Evie, and Carlos was helping them.

The group had about an hour to spare with them using that time to get ready for the event. Ben had to leave early to do a last-minute rehearsal for the beginning show. Ben also made a deal with his parents that he would wear a presentable suit for the occasion instead of his usual Isle garb. Luckily there was a loophole for him to wear the necklace and crown, considering they aren't his 'usual' clothes, but the necklace soon would be. Jay, Evie, and Carlos wore their nicest clothes while Mal wore the dress Lady Tremaine sent along with the crown.

Anyways, the sun shone over the rose garden on the breezy Family Day.

On the green lawn, Ben led a choir of students in singing 'Be Our Guest' as a way to kick off the event. A student banner read FAMILY DAY! GOODNESS DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER. Some students and their families danced, while others enjoyed plates of every type of delicious food imaginable from various tables and tents.

Mal grabbed a strawberry from a table as she, Evie, Jay, and Carlos stepped into the throng. Carlos handed off Dude to Evie and ate strawberries he dipped in a lavishly flowing chocolate fountain.

The happy choir dispersed. Mal nibbled her strawberry and watched Ben join Beast and Belle. They stepped under a stone archway and posed for the photographer. Ben was forced to take the crown off his head and hide it behind his back, but he absolutely refused to take off the bull necklace, so it got to stay in the picture.

"Oh!" Ben suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you, my girlfriend is here."

The parents gasped dramatically.

"Well that's wonderful!" Queen Belle cheered. "And you were right about Audrey. I hadn't realized it before, but she is a little self-absorbed. With a fake smile"—Belle flashed a fake smile for the photographer and continued to speak through it—"a kind of kiss-up."

"When do we get to meet her?" King Beast wondered.

"On the count of three," warned the photographer. "One . . . two . . ."

"How about now?" Ben waved at Mal, who meekly waved back. "Mal!" he called to her, beckoning her over.

"Three!" shouted the photographer.

Belle's and Beast's frozen looks of shock were captured in the photo.

"Mal, you look beautiful," Ben complimented his beloved as they walked to each other. Mal helped him place his crown on his head before they shared a quick kiss and comforting hug, giving Ben the perfect opportunity to whisper in Mal's ear, "I wanted to introduce you to my parents."

Once they were within five feet of the married couple, Ben introduced her, "This is Mal, my girlfriend from the Isle for ten years."

Mal blushed as she lightly elbowed her beloved. "Don't listen to him. We've only been romantically together for three years."

"But I wish it were ten," Ben commented sweetly, which earned him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hi." Queen Belle greeted with an uneasy laugh in her tone while her husband simply waved. "That's a very _unique_ crown you're wearing."

Mal lightly placed a hand on the object with a smile. "Thanks. A girl on the Isle made mine and Ben's after the people started calling us 'Queen and King of the Isle'."

"I was thinking maybe Mal could join us for lunch," Ben suggested.

"Of course," King Beast agreed with a small kind smile. "Did you come here with your friends?"

"Yes, sir." Mal answered as she gestured to them.

"Well," Belle began, "you should . . . invite them."

Belle gazed past Mal at the girl's three friends. Jay was drinking directly from the chocolate fountain as Carlos, his face smeared with chocolate, jumped up and down, giggling, and dipped more strawberries into the fountain. Evie bounced Dude up and down in her arms.

Belle smiled kindly. "The more, the merrier!"

"Okay!" Mal smiled as well. "I'll go grab them." She turned to get her friends.

"How about a game of croquet before lunch?" proposed Beast.

"Of course!" Mal agreed before Ben could say anything.

"Game on!" said Ben, high-fiving his dad.

"Game on," said Beast. He laughed. Belle smiled.

Mal and Ben turned their backs to the royals. "Have you played before?" whispered Ben.

"No," Mal denied.

Ben snorted. "Neither have I."

As Mal and Ben walked away toward the croquet lawn, Queen Belle's and King Beast's smiles vanished. Belle nearly fainted to which Beast caught her.

* * *

Mal happily trotted toward her friends. _Maybe we will have a nice time after all_ , she thought positively. She walked onto the lawn, picked up a croquet stick, and hit the ball. Students frolicked around her. Mal smiled at an older woman in a pale pink suit, Queen Leah.

"Hello there," greeted Queen Leah, strolling up to her with a smile.

"Hi," Mal replied with a sweet tone.

"Now," Queen Leah began as circled around Mal like a vulture circles their pray, "have we met?"

"No, I don't think so." Mal denied trying to be polite as possible. "I'm new. I'm sort of like a . . ." she trailed off as she pretended to think of the right word, "transfer student."

Audrey appeared beside them with in a pink dress holding a glass of punch. "Grammy," the princess greeted with a smile.

"Oh, Audrey!" Queen Leah dramatically exclaimed, almost like she wanted everyone to know how loving she is. "Give Grammy a kiss, dear."

Audrey gave the retired queen a kiss on the cheek before she noticed Mal.

"' _Grammy_ '?" The purple-haired repeated in a curious, but worried tone.

"Sleeping Beauty's mother," Audrey informed in a snobbish tone. "Grammy, I don't think you want to be talking to this girl. Unless you feel like taking another hundred-year nap."

Queen Leah stared hard at Mal. "What?" She backed away from Mal in fright, mistaking her for Maleficent. " _You_!" she cried in recognition, gaining the attention of everyone at the party. "How are you here?" She examined Mal again, but this time a little more mystified. "And how have you stayed so young?"

Everybody in the garden grew quiet and gathered around them

Ben rushed over to them to keep everyone calm. "You're mistaken, your Majesty," he insisted politely. "Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter, Mal." He placed an affectionate hand on Mal's shoulder. "Don't you know? I came to Auradon because she agreed to come with me."

Queen Leah tilted her head with curiosity. "And you are?"

"Ben," Audrey muttered. "The prince that went missing from home for ten years. My ex-betrothed."

"We were never engaged," Ben snapped as he felt Mal tense up. "And my home is the Isle. It always will be."

"How can you say that?" Queen Leah wondered in horror. "Do you know what the Isle is compared to Auradon?"

"Do you?" Ben challenged, getting a little riled up. "I have lived on the Isle for ten _years._ I have seen and experienced so many things that I couldn't in Auradon that has made me who I am."

"Like what?"

"Starvation for one." Ben gestured to the four other Isle children. "We have had to go days without food because Auradon only sends the shipment once a week and the villagers take as much as they can once the ship arrives. I couldn't tell you how many times I had to beg for food. Everyone on the Isle has finally started to get enough food to last the week because we"—he motioned to him and Mal—"started sorting it so everyone gets a fair share. In fact, that's what the five of us did this morning so there would be no chaos on the Isle."

"You should have came home sooner." Queen Leah argued. "That way you didn't have to deal with it."

"The Isle is my home!" Ben shouted, causing Mal to wrap her arms around his sides to calm him down slightly. "How many times do I have to say it before you finally listen? The main reason I came here is because they didn't want the second person in line to become king!"

"Ben," Fairy Godmother chided as she came over to assist. "Control your temper."

"This is nothing," Mal insisted in a small voice, casually flexing her hands. "You should see him when he loses it completely. It takes Gaston and his twins to hold him back."

"Gaston?" Queen Leah repeated in astonishment. "I'm surprised you've survived so long on the Isle with him there."

"Why would you be?" Ben wondered. "His youngest son and I are really close friends, like brothers." He lifted the bronze bull charm that was out of place with his pristine outfit. "Gaston had sent this to me for his son so his son could be with me during my coronation."

"That is outrageous Ben." Queen Leah sigh. "Don't you remember what those villains have done?" She turned to her audience. "The poison apples. And the spells!" Beast, Belle, Fairy Godmother, and the others all stared at her solemnly. Queen Leah glared at Mal vehemently. "The spells . . . My daughter was raised by fairies because of your mother's curse. Her first words, her first steps—I missed it all!" Queen Leah turned away, sobbing quietly.

Mal thought about comforting her, but decided against it at the last minute when she noticed her breathing quicken.

Audrey just happened to notice. "What's wrong Mal?" She taunted, feigning concern in her tone. "Feel like you're about to . . . panic?"

Realization hit Mal like a ton of bricks. She shook her head with a small laugh, unimpressed. "That was your plan?" Mal interrogated slowly as a way to control her breathing. "Trying to make me have a panic attack while making Ben lose his temper so he couldn't help?"

Audrey didn't say anything making Mal laugh again. "Puh-lease!" Mal stated. "In case you haven't heard _princess_ , my panic attacks happen at random. It may look like Ben is the cause, but that's because he's most usually around when I have them. There have been many times where I've had one yet Ben wasn't around. The attacks come and go as they please, yet _no one_ on the Isle used it against me because I am 'Queen of the Isle'."

Chad jumped between them. "Now you—"

"Don't do this Chad," Ben practically ordered.

"What? They were raised by their _parents_ , Ben." Chad insisted. "What do you think villains teach their children? Kindness? Fair play? No way!"

"How would you know?" Ben challenged. "I have lived with them, learned with them, and befriended many of them for ten _years,_ which is far more than you."

"Well your opinion is biased!" Chad argued lamely. He addressed the audience dramatically. "Is there anyone here that can vouch for them?"

Silence. No one spoke up, but that would be expected since not many really trusted the four villain children. Most hadn't even talked to them since the week they've been in Auradon.

Who would stand up for them?

"I can." called an old gruff voice.

Mal smiled at the familiar voice as the crowd to parted to let an old ma- _dwarf_ walk through. The dwarf was none other than Grumpy, the dwarf least liked _but_ a friend to Mal and Ben.

"I can," Grumpy repeated/began, "and _will_ vouch for all four of these children." He adverted his attention to Mal, giving her a slight bow in greeting and respect. "Hello, your Highness."

Mal's smile started to grow. "Hi Grumpy," she greeted happily, bowing in return, except this bow was special. She had one arm over her chest as her other hand was used to raise her skirt slightly with her legs/feet crossed. It was the only thing she could come up with on a short notice.

Grumpy stood back up to his full height to speak directly to Chad. "As I was saying," the dwarf continued, "I will vouch for the children for they have made more of an impact here in Auradon than you ever have. The problems we 'sidekicks' had were resolved mainly from Queen Mal's ideas."

"She's not a queen!" Chad shouted.

"Yes, she is. She is the Queen of the Isle!" Grumpy retorted, speaking louder than the teen. "Hopefully, she'll become Queen of Auradon. She definitely deserves it more than anyone else here. And didn't your parents ever teach you to not yell at your elders? You should learn some respect!"

Chad was dumbfounded, as was everyone else at the event; excluding Mal, of course. She was so happy that the kind dwarf was defending her that her panic attack was slowly fading away. She'll have to remember to talk with him when she feels a small one coming.

"But what about the others?" Chad wondered. "Surely you can't come up with something for them?"

Grumpy laughed sourly, which was strange to hear. "Did you not see the tourney game?" He questioned rhetorically. "The boys won the trophy back after so many years. As for Grimhilde's daughter—"

Behind Mal and Ben, Evie flinched at hearing her mother's real name.

"—I heard from my nephew she excels in her classes and spends her extra time making clothing for herself and her friends. No doubt she'll become a fashion designer within a few weeks of being here."

Evie smiled at the compliment, happy to know the grumpiest dwarf somewhat likes her and that Doug talks about her.

Mal tapped Ben's shoulder twice to get his attention. "I need to leave." She muttered. "It's fading, but I still need to get away from the chaos before it comes back worse."

Ben nodded in understanding. "Go, I'll take care of things here."

With a small nod, she slowly backed away while the prince and the dwarf were still having their argument. She gave Jay a small nudge as well, so he'd go with her to calm her town. As Jay was leading her away, Chad noticed and roughly grabbed Mal's arm. "Now hold on a second—"

The spoiled prince was interrupted when Ben suddenly grabbed the arm that touched his beloved, slammed him on the ground, and forcefully pulled Chad's arm behind his back. If Ben were to tighten his grip any more, Chad would break an arm or dislocate a shoulder.

"You idiot!" Jay shouted at the restricted Chad. "That's the number one rule on the Isle, _never_ touch Mal when Ben's losing his temper!"

Evie leaped in and squirted Chad with the atomizer. He fell unconscious immediately. The garden broke into pandemonium. Mal managed to get Ben off of Chad and his temper under control, however her panic attack came back worse than ever.

Jay quickly rushed Mal away as Evie and Carlos followed behind them.

"Guys!" Ben called after them. He looked around at the chaos. Everything was falling to pieces. Chad finally came to.

"I feared something like this would happen," commented Beast.

"This isn't their fault!" Ben defended his old friends.

"No, Son," Beast agreed, solemnly, "it's yours."

"Now _you_ hold on a second!" Grumpy interjected as he came to the aid of Ben. "Ben didn't cause any of this and neither did those four children. If anyone is to be blamed, it's that Chad Charming and Princess Audrey, _not_ your _son_!" The dwarf turned to Ben once he regained his composure. "Go to your queen. She is going to need her king."

* * *

Ben took off after his beloved and her friends. When lunch rolled around, he finally found them outside at a picnic table. None of them spoke. A ring of empty tables surrounded them, and beyond that sat the others in their cliques, staring them down.

"Hey, guys," Ben greeted trying to be upbeat and happy despite the circumstance that happened less than an hour ago. "How is everyone?"

They didn't respond.

"Hey, listen, forget about today," he insisted. "It was nothing. Forget about it. Let it go." He rested his hands on Mal's shoulders.

Mal kept staring straight ahead, not acknowledging him.

"Tomorrow after the coronation, I promise everything will be okay." Ben promised. "At least Grumpy is on our side."

Mal and her three friends still looked glum.

"I have to go," Ben muttered into his beloved's hair. "I'll see you later." He kissed the top of her head before he walked away.

Doug strolled up to the table. "Hey, listen, Evie, I want to talk—"

"Doug!" shouted Chad from another table.

"It's my fault. I'm so sorry—" Evie whispered to Doug.

"Doug!" Chad barked again.

"No!" Doug turned to the spoiled prince. "I'm talking to her and you can't stop me." He turned back to the astonished princess. "Evie, I'm sorry I didn't help with the situation that happened before; everything was happening so quickly and I didn't know what to do. So, if don't completely hate me, I would still like to take you to the coronation as my date."

Evie smiled at the sweet offer. "Pick me up at my room at nine."

Doug gave a small smile in return before he walked away to speak with his family, more specifically his uncle.

Audrey strolled past with Jane. Audrey talked loudly enough for Mal and her friends to hear. "How long does she think that's going to last? She's the bad-girl infatuation." Audrey shot them a cruel smile.

"Yeah," agreed Jane. "I mean, he's never going to make a villain a queen."

Most of the girls laughed, and Audrey and Jane strolled off.

Mal glowered and flipped through her spell book, waving her finger. " _Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair._ "

Jane screamed as her short bob replaced the long wavy brown locks. Jane's friends backed away, pointing and laughing at her hairdo. Jane looked mortified.

Lonnie stroked her own hair, making sure it was still long and glamorous.

"In case you don't remember," Mal began as she stood from her seat, " _I'm_ the one that made Ben a king. And there's a lot more where that came from."

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" asked Audrey, hand on her hip.

"Queen of the Isle!" Mal announced. "And do I look like I'm kidding?"

When the girls kept on staring at her, she opened her spell book again.

The girls and their friends took off.

Mal was angry. She spun around to her friends. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." She slammed her book shut. "Let's grab that wand and blow this Popsicle stand."

Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked at Mal and nodded in quiet understanding. They got up from the picnic table and walked fiercely back toward the school in their usual Isle of the Lost gang formation. Their focus was back. It was nearly coronation time—their big moment to steal the wand. The four were rotten to the core after all.

And Ben would forgive them eventually.

* * *

 **There we go! Grumpy was the answer! As I wrote this chapter, I came up with this cute idea for a small side story chapter. If you want to know the idea, review and I'll pm you the idea!**

 **Also, with what happened to Chad, I had written something completely different, but then changed it to this version. I'm kind of glad I did.**


	15. Bonus Chapter 2

**Here is Bonus Chapter 2 as promised. The day I started this, I had listened to this new song by Gabbie Hanna called 'Monster'. Of course, I came up with a story idea involving Gil and another character. The title is 'Monster' and has already been published. I didn't have much to work with so it's not that good.**

 **Also, with what I have planned for the coronation chapter, it's going to take a while to finish because I'm completely changing Mal and Ben's confrontation when she gets hold of the wand. That's why I'm posting this early so I have more time to focus on it. Hopefully I can get it done by this weekend. Just a little _SPOILER_ about the change: you will see how Gaston stood up for Ben against the villains. However, that shouldn't really be a spoiler because I did tell you that in the last chapter.**

 **Bonus Chapter 3 will be posted next Wednesday (the 7th) no matter what.**

 **Anyways! Let's get on with the story!**

* * *

Gil was working at Ursula's restaurant when his brothers came to get him again.

"His coronation isn't until tomorrow," Gil commented to his brothers as he cleared a table of dirty dishes. "Why would he be on the news network today?"

"The network is doing come kind of special over a school event called Family Day," Gaston III informed. "They usually don't do that, but since Ben had arrived in Auradon, they wanted to make his presence more known since his coronation is going to air all over the kingdom."

"If we don't hurry, we're going to miss the opening," Gaston Jr chided. "So, go tell Uma your leaving and if she doesn't like it then have her come talk to us."

Surprising enough, Uma reluctantly let Gil leave early so she wouldn't have to feel the wrath of the Gaston twins. She knew they were not above hurting a female, especially if it was for their brother.

When they arrived at the house, their father Gaston was already waiting for them. He had found himself a seat in his personal chair and a bowl of popcorn in his lap. At the beginning, the three brothers felt a little awkward because of how their father treated Ben so kindly, but they eventually got used to it.

The event started a few moments after the brothers got comfortable in their usual spot—Gil on the floor in front of the TV and the twins on the couch.

The opening performance was of Ben singing and dancing along to the song 'Be Our Guest' with his fellow classmates. The twins thought it was hilarious because it was obvious Ben didn't know all the lyrics to it. He was basically the hype man of the song.

Gil couldn't help noticing what he was wearing. Ben wore his Isle crown, which did not fit well with his pristine Auradon suit. However, that's not what Gil found surprising.

"Why is he wearing my necklace?" Gil questioned in confusion. " _How_ is he wearing my necklace? I didn't send it with my letter."

"I did," his father informed quickly. "I thought it would be a surprise for you to see him wear it."

"How did you know he would?"

His father shrugged. "I didn't. I was taking a shot in the dark when I sent it to him. Since he's wearing it today, he'll probably wear it tomorrow at his coronation."

"If his parent's let him," Gaston Jr chimed in.

"He'll probably hide it on him," Gaston III suggested. "That way he can slip it on whenever they aren't around."

The three brothers and father caught a glimpse of the four children from the Isle. Evie, Jay, and Carlos blended in with their nicest clothing that didn't have any tears in them. Meanwhile Mal completely stood out with her 'Queen of the Isle' outfit which consisted of her famous purple dress and rose thorn tiara that Ben's crown was based off of.

The family didn't get to see much of Ben until later on because of a certain incident. The camera had paused to linger on Mal and an elder woman in a pink suit. That Princess Audrey had joined them and caused a fight to start when she revealed to the old woman—who was her grandmother—that Mal was Maleficent's daughter.

Ben came over to help, but he didn't really do much considering his temper was wavering.

 _"This is nothing," Mal insisted in a small voice, casually flexing her hands. "You should see him when he loses it completely. It takes Gaston and his twins to hold him back."_

 _"Gaston?" Queen Leah repeated in astonishment. "I'm surprised you've survived so long on the Isle with him there."_

 _"Why would you be?" Ben wondered. "His youngest son and I are really close friends, like brothers." He lifted the bronze bull charm that was out of place with his pristine outfit. "Gaston had sent this to me for his son so his son could be with me during my coronation."_

"He mentioned me!" Gil cheered happily with a big smile.

"Gil, this isn't the right time to celebrate," his father scolded.

The argument continued with neither side letting up. It was discovered that Princess Audrey was purposely trying to make Ben lose his temper so he wouldn't be able to help Mal when she had a panic attack. Chad came over to try to make things worse, but then suddenly a dwarf appeared and came to the Isle children's aid. He bowed to Mal, who bowed back in her own style—one arm was over her chest as her other hand was used to raise her skirt slightly with her legs/feet crossed.

"Which dwarf is that?" Gaston Jr questioned.

"I think that's Grumpy," Gil guessed. "In Ben's first letter, he summarized the meeting he and Mal had with the dwarf about the sidekicks' complaints. Mal and Grumpy got along pretty well. Grumpy said he would be proud to call them 'King and Queen of Auradon' but will settle for calling them 'Queen and King of the Isle'."

The spoiled prince and Grumpy continued to fight, with the dwarf continuously defending the four with no hesitation or regret. Although . . .

"Grimhilde?" Gaston III repeated in confusion. "Who's that?"

"Evil Queen," their father answered. "She didn't like the name given to her because she thought it was ugly. She thought 'Evil Queen' sounded better and people won't forget who she is. The dwarfs call her by her real name to aggravate her."

Mal tried to sneak away from the arguing, most likely because she was having a panic attack. However, as she was trying to leave, Chad grabbed her.

All four males either tensed or flinched at the action. _That_ was a _BIG_ no-no on the Isle. "That idiot!" The father insulted. "He broke the number one rule!"

As expected Ben grabbed the arm that touched his beloved, slammed him on the ground, and forcefully pulled Chad's arm behind his back. If Ben were to tighten his grip any more, Chad would break an arm or dislocate a shoulder. The twins should know, since Ben does that to them every time they get in a physical fight with each other.

 _"You idiot!" Jay shouted at the restricted Chad. "That's the number one rule on the Isle,_ _never_ _touch Mal when Ben's losing his temper!"_

Many things happened the next few moments. Evie had knocked Chad unconscious with some kind of perfume, Mal got Ben off of Chad, Mal started to have another one of her panic attacks, Jay led her away, and Evie and Carlos followed after them.

What surprised the family even more was when King Beast blamed his son for what happened. Once again, the dwarf came to Ben's aid, arguing that it as the spoiled prince and princess's fault, not Ben's.

Ben left to go after the four, but not before mouthy something into the camera again.

"What did he say this time?" Gaston Jr wondered once again.

Gil sighed sadly. "'Sorry, Brother'."


	16. Chapter 14

**Over five thousand words later the 'final' chapter of this story is finished! This one is pretty lengthy, as it took me a full week to write it—which includes working on during class (so glad it was movie week)—making it my longest chapter in this story and longer than the 'Family Day' chapter in 'A Twist in Time'.**

 **However, I did not write this from scratch. I did cheat and use portions from 'A Twist in Time'. Technically it isn't cheating—I'm using my resources. With that being said, try not to skip over some parts because you may miss something important, like Mal saying 'no'.**

 **So I know I said I would wait until Wednesday to post Bonus Chapter 3, but it's already finished so it will be added some time this weekend. It will serve as a sort of epilogue. It's going to be a sad chapter, but I'll need it for the sequel.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Ben's coronation at the cathedral was a grand event like no other.

The cloudless blue sky smiled down upon limos snaking their way up to the entrance of the cathedral. The cathedral steps were lined with a royal-blue carpet, brimming with honored guests. Blue and gold flags rustled in the fair breeze. Snow White, the anchorwoman, stood on a platform facing a TV camera-man.

"At last!" Snow White said into her mike. "Here we are, broadcasting live from the coronation, where Prince Benjamin will soon be crowned king! I'm Snow White, bringing you up-to-the-second coverage of who's the fairest of them all!"

The camera exposed the inside of the massive cathedral, with its stained glass and countless pillars. It panned over the guests mingling beside a stage, where a bell jar was on display, covered by a sheet. The camera stopped momentarily on Evie and Doug, who were silently standing next to each other as they waited for the ceremony to start.

"It looks like Doug had the courage to ask that pretty girl from the Isle," said Snow White. The camera continued on. "Aw, Fairy Godmother is looking radiant. But what is happening with Jane's hair! And that Peter Pan collar with a pink bow? Someone just earned a spot on Snow White's 'That Don't Look Right' list!" She waved a hand.

Fairy Godmother uncovered the bell jar to reveal her magic wand.

"And there's Fairy Godmother's wand!" Snow White squealed. "So sparkly! So fun!"

"Oh! And here comes Ben now!" She announced.

A carriage drawn by two white horses rolled up in front of the cathedral. Ben and Mal sat in the back _next_ to each other. Mal wore a radiant purple dress and had her hair up in a fancy bun with her pink rose behind her ear. Ben wore a deep blue suit with no Isle alterations. His father knew what he had planned and had an extra suit made. King Beast still couldn't get Ben to take off the bull necklace.

Guests threw flower petals and confetti at them.

"Ooh, and he went with classic prince couture. _That_ is a Benja _-win_ ," said Snow White.

Inside the carriage, Mal clutched her hands tightly in nervousness.

Ben took her hand. "Don't be nervous," he told her. "All you have to do is sit there and look beautiful." He smiled. "No problem there."

There was still awkward silence and uncomfortableness, but Ben could guess what it was from. Without saying a word, he lifted Mal—who squealed at the sudden action—and placed her on his lap, making sure her dress wasn't stepped on, wrinkled, etc.

"There," he commented with a laugh in his tone, "this feels a lot better."

Mal sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you," she muttered softly.

Ben kissed her forehead adoringly. "And I love you."

The carriage rolled up to a stop in front of the cathedral. Trumpets blared. Footmen opened the carriage door and helped Mal down from it.

"Well, if it isn't Mal looking like some kind of princess!" said Snow White. "Now, let's see who this beauty is wearing . . ." Snow White read something from a blue index cared. "Evie!" she said. "Someone named _Evie_ designed her gown."

Ben took her hand. He and Mal walked up the cathedral stairs. Trumpets blared on either side of them as they approached Beast and Belle. The crowd roared.

Mal and Ben reached the top of the stairs. Mal bowed before Ben's parents.

"About the other day, I just—" Mal started to say to King Beast.

He raised his hand slightly so she'd stop. "I told Ben this wasn't going to be easy," stated King Beast.

"Yet I learned on the Isle that a king has to believe in himself," Ben insisted with a smile. "Even when it isn't easy."

"You did?" King Beast questioned. Queen Belle slapped his arm slightly. "I mean, how very wise of you."

Queen Belle took Ben's hands in hers. "Ben, we are very proud of you," she praised. "You keep listening to your heart."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You're going to make a fine king," King Beast acknowledged. He patted Ben on the arm.

The married couple walked off leaving the dating couple. Ben stepped closer to Mal and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Everything will be fine," he promised with a smile. "After this, our lives will get easier." He lifted her hand that had his ring. "And we are one step closer to this."

An attendant offered his hand to Mal. She gave Ben a loving kiss as a tear accidentally slipped from her cheek. She hoped Ben wouldn't notice, but of course he did and wiped away the tear. He pulled back in worry. "Are you okay?" he wondered in worry.

Mal nodded, even though she was lying to herself. Even though she had planned on using a potion to make Ben forget her, it takes over two weeks to make and she barely had two days when she found the spell. Now when she betrayed Ben, there was nothing she could do to make things better for herself.

"I'm fine," she fibbed. "Just happy for you, that's all."

Ben gave Mal another quick kiss before she allowed herself to be led away and into the cathedral. It was time to begin the coronation.

Attendants opened the main doors to the cathedral for Ben. He began to walk down the long aisle. The audience bowed to him as he passed. A choir sang. Mal watched Ben from the front row. Ben moved down the aisle and smiled at his beloved. Mal smiled back only to hide her nervousness.

Ben approached the stage where Fairy Godmother, his parents, and the wand waited for him. Mal was so very close to the wand. She gulped and stared at Ben as Fairy Godmother lifted the crown from Beast's head and placed it on Ben's as he kneeled. Her stomach lurched as she stared intently at the wand.

Mal's eyes began to glass over with tears.

 _NO!_

Mal's _not_ going to go through with this. Her mother could be as mad or as disappointed in her as she wanted. Mal won't betray Ben. She loved him too much.

Turning so she could look at Evie, Mal shook her head, hoping she would understand with that little gesture. Luckily, Evie did as she had lightly nodded with a smile.

Mal then went on to signal Jay and Carlos, who was stuck standing in the balcony. They gave her a nod and a small smile as well. Mal could practically feel the tension easing away. A genuine smile spread across her face as she watched the event with no worries.

King Beast lifted the bell jar.

Queen Belle handed the wand to Fairy Godmother.

Mal looked back at the wand. It shimmered beautifully. She stared at it, transfixed. Before the Fairy Godmother, Ben awaited the blessing with her wand again.

The choir stopped singing.

Fairy Godmother held the wand out to Ben as if she were going to knight him. "Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon," began Fairy Godmother for all in the cathedral to hear, "with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?"

Mal could just picture her mother shouting for her to grab the wand, but she defiantly stood in place. Her mother _won't_ be telling her what to do this time.

"I do solemnly swear," Ben promised.

Fairy Godmother lifted the wand. "Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king—"

The wand was snatched out of Fairy Godmother's hand.

The audience gasped.

The magic wand shook violently and shot off a wild display of sparks.

It bucked and sent a fierce bolt of lightning that cracked through one of the cathedral's stained-glass windows. The bolt sizzled through the air and exploded as it hit and broke the magic barrier of the Isle of the Lost.

Fairy Godmother was wide-eyed. "Child, what are you doing?" she cried.

Of course, it wasn't Mal that brandished the wand; it was _Jane!_

Jane shouted, "If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself!" She struggled to control the wand as its power rocked her viciously from side to side.

Everyone screamed as the wand swung left and then right. She spun frantically as the room watched in horror.

"Take cover!" Beast shouted to the terrified audience.

Beast shielded Belle, and Ben put an arm over Mal to protect her.

The audience leaped back from the shower of sparks.

With a heavy heart, Mal ran up to Jane and pried the wand from her hands.

"Careful, Mal!" Queen Belle warned.

Mal wielded the wand like a sword. The audience ducked. Mal looked at her friends in the balcony and on the main floor. The boys ran downstairs and Evie raced toward her. They found themselves behind Mal in a few short moments.

Jane scampered away from her and hid behind some people in the audience.

Ben moved toward Mal cautiously. "Mal . . . give me the wand."

"Stand back," Mal ordered in a small voice.

"Mal, it's okay. I—"

"Ben," she snipped as a tear slipped down her cheek. She held the wand with a slight quiver. " _Please_ , stand back. I don't want to hurt you."

Audrey stepped out from the fray. "I told you so!" she said to Ben.

Mal swung the wand toward her, and Audrey staggered backwards. The audience gasped and screamed, then fell quiet.

"Mal," Ben began cautiously, "Uncle told me what you four were planning. You don't have to do this."

That surprised the four villain children. "Dad _told_ you?" Jay questioned, which was mostly used to clarify who Ben's 'uncle' was. "Why?"

"Because he knew the four of you wouldn't want to go through with it." Ben turned his attention back to Mal. "Do you want to do this?"

Mal reluctantly shook her head. "No," she muttered. "I don't."

"Then give me the wand." Ben took a careful step forward.

Mal considered it for a few seconds until she felt her hands becoming number and her heart beat quickening. She groaned in aggravation. "Not now," she whined. "Why couldn't it give me a break for once?"

"You're having a panic attack now?" Ben deduced after a few short seconds. "How bad is it?"

Mal placed a hand over her heart as she started to experience painful chest pains, which normally never happened. "Bad," she hissed.

Jay—being the best option—stepped forward to help appease it. The audience stood by and watched as Jay started to rub soothing circled on her back and muttering comforting words. Ben thought about singing or humming a song, but thought better of it since Audrey's grandmother and parents were present.

"Keep your breathing steady." Ben advised as he took a small step forward. "Close your eyes and go to your happy place."

With a small nod, Mal did as she was told. She closed her eyes and imagined her happy place that was back on the Isle. However, something strange happened.

The wand seemed to feel Mal's desperation and deep emotion about what Mal was thinking about. With no nudge from Mal, a spark of magic came out of the wand. The spark turned into a sort of screen that hovered in the middle of a room.

A scene began to play:

 **-0-0-0-**

 _Mal and Ben were walking through a clearing on the Isle at night. Mal wore her 'Queen' dress and Ben wore something a little more presentable than what he usually wore on the Isle. Ben actually had his hands covering Mal's eyes so it wouldn't ruin the surprise._

 _"You didn't have to do anything for our three-year anniversary," Mal insisted almost guiltily. "It's Saturday! You should be on the other side of the Isle with Gil, not here with me. Your routine is going to be off now."_

 _Ben laughed. "Gil helped me set this up," he insisted with a smile, "and we are still having dinner at his place tomorrow, as usual. Besides, it would have taken me a lot longer if he didn't volunteer."_

 _Once they were at their destination, Ben stopped causing Mal to halt as well. "Are you ready?"_

 _Mal sighed. "If it's what I think it is, I'm going to feel terrible for not doing anything."_

 _As soon as her eyes were uncovered, Mal discovered that she was right._

 _They were in a clearing that was surrounded by trees, but had a great view of Auradon since it was on the tallest hill on the Isle. In the trees stringed a set of white lights that illuminated the clearing. A picnic basket was set on a large blanket that also sat two pillows so they can star gaze comfortably._

 _Mal sighed once again. "And now I feel terrible."_

 _The couple walked over and sat on the blanket. Mal peeked inside the basket and became confused. "Why do you have some of the fresher food? Actually,_ how _did you get this food? You're portion of the sorting is the more spoiled food and you usually have all of yours given away in the first day."_

 _Ben hesitated before confessing, "I may have done a deal with Lady Tremaine so I could have some of her food from her portion for the week for today."_

 _"Ben!" Mal slapped his arm as punishment. "No more taking food from Lady Tremaine and no more giving your food away."_

 _"I make no promises." He kissed her cheek lovingly. "How else do you expect me to bargain with people?"_

 _They ate their food and within a few minutes they were on their backs gazing up at the stars. Mal had her head resting on his shoulder while Ben had an arm around her waist."_

 _"I have one more present." Ben announced._

 _"Another gift?" Mal raised her head slightly. "And I still got you nothing. You're making me look like a bad girlfriend."_

 _"You know how you can make it up to me?"_

 _"How?"_

 _Ben pulled out a gold ring with an engraving on it from his pocket. "By marrying me."_

 _Mal sat up in surprise and Ben followed her. "Ben, we are way too young," Mal reasoned. "I just turned sixteen a couple weeks ago—"_

 _"And that's why we wait until we're eighteen." Ben insisted, as though he already planned everything else. "There's no rule on how long we can be engaged. I say, we keep it a secret, plan certain things, and once we both turn eighteen wait a couple weeks before we announce our engagement. Almost everything will be planned and we'll have it sooner than expected."_

 _Mal tilted her head in curiosity. "Will we have it here or in Auradon?"_

 _"I don't know," Ben admitted. "We'll have to see when it gets closer, but what's your answer?"_

 _Mal smiled as she slipped his ring on her finger. "Yes!"_

 **-0-0-0-**

The audience gaped at what they just saw. Mal honestly couldn't believe it herself, but that _was_ the memory of her happy place that she was thinking about.

"That's why you were so upset about the arranged marriage!" Doug exclaimed from the side lines. "You two were already engaged!"

Neither Ben nor Mal said a word to agree or disagree with the accusation. However, Mal did have an idea.

If the wand is showing whatever memory she is thinking, then maybe . . .

As though the wand was reading her thoughts, a new scene started.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _Mal and Ben were sneaking through the back streets of the Isle at the young age of ten. There were dried tears on Mal's cheeks as she followed behind a frightened Ben. Every few steps they would look over their shoulders to make sure no one was following them._

 _After a short while they ran into a bubbly Gil. "There you are!" Gil exclaimed cheerfully. "My brothers and I have been looking everywhere for you two. Dad wanted us to find you and make sure you were ok."_

 _Ben didn't hide his confusion. "He did?" Ben questioned. "Doesn't he know who I am now?"_

 _"Of course, he does!" Gil insisted. "He knows you are my best friend. Actually, you're my only friend, but that's not the point."_

 ** _-0-0-0-_**

"What is this?" King Beast interrogated, since he knew no one else would.

"Yesterday, Queen Leah had wondered how Ben survived on the Isle," Mal reminded stubbornly, "especially since Gaston and his three children live there. _This_ is what happened when everyone on the Isle found out who he was."

 **-0-0-0-**

 _Ben and Mal followed closely behind Gil, who got them lost more than once. What do you expect? He's usually on the other side of the Isle and hardly traveled on that side unless he was with his father._

 _Speaking of his father, Gaston found the trio after their third time of being lost. He knelt to the children's height and in front of Ben and Mal. He examined Ben for any signs of injuries and then did the same to Mal._

 _"Are you two alright?" Gaston finally questioned when he didn't find anything. "None of the villains got to you yet?"_

 _"Only you," Mal stated as she stood closer to Ben than she already was. "But why are you asking about me?"_

 _"Some of them thought about going after you to lure Ben." Gaston explained in a slow and soothing tone so neither one would freak. "Don't worry. Just stay by my side and I'll make sure nothing happens to you."_

 _"Why?" Ben wondered in surprise and confusion. "Why are you being so nice and kind to me? My father and you are enemies. Shouldn't you be trying to kill me?"_

 _Gaston sighed at the assumption. "Believe it or not, but your father and I were friends before he was turned into a beast," the older man informed. "The enchantress that cursed your father erased the villagers' memories of him, even mine, his old friend's. Ironically I didn't remember or realize who he was until I saw you and Gil playing one day."_

 _"So, did you know who I was the whole time?"_

 _"I had an idea," Gaston claimed, "however, I didn't want to make any assumptions considering you had gotten so close with my son." Gaston gazed around their surroundings for any spies or eavesdroppers. "Let's get you two somewhere safe. We'll hide you until I'm able to speak with everyone about getting you home to Auradon safely—"_

 _"No!" Ben shouted as he stepped back, away from the villain. "The Isle is my home. I don't want to leave and you can't make me!"_

 _Gaston sighed once again in aggravation. Ben just made his plan a little more difficult. "Is Mal the reason why you don't want to leave?" The young boy didn't say an answer, but he gave it away when a light blush formed on his cheeks. "Alright, I'll talk to them about letting you stay_ without _you having to worry about them trying to kidnap you. For now, let's get you two back to our house."_

 _As advised the two endangered children now followed closely next to Gaston while Gil walked in front of them, this time knowing where he was going._

 _Of course, things couldn't go easy for them._

 _Since Gaston and his children lived in town, a some of the villains decided to ambush the four outside his home. Do know that Jafar was_ not _among the group._

 _Gaston gave the group a nod in greeting. "Do you need something?" He interrogated. "As you can see, I am very busy."_

 _"Let's make this easy, Gaston," insisted Shan Yu, the man that had been defeated by Mulan. "Hand him over. We want off this island and that boy is the key. Hand him over."_

 _Gaston gazed down at the endangered boy. He looked ready to run at any moment if he gave him the word. "Ben," Gaston began, "is there somewhere you can hide and Mal or Gil will be able to find you?" When the child nodded energetically, the man ordered, "Run. Hide and don't come out until either one finds you."_

 _With a short nod, Ben took off, climbing onto an old abandoned building as a short cut. Shan Yu attempted to follow him._

 _BANG!_

 _A gun shot rang and everyone went still. Ben had looked over his shoulder to see what happened. Gaston had his gun out and there was a bullet hole in a building barely an inch away from Shan Yu's head. "You heard what I said!" Gaston shouted a little more forcefully. "GO!"_

 _Ben didn't need to be told a third timetwice. He hurried off as the others tried to understand what just happened._

 _"You're losing your touch, Gaston," Shan Yu insulted, somehow calm despite almost being murdered. "You missed."_

 _"Who said it was by accident?" Gaston wondered with a hint of a threat in his tone. "Let's make this clear here:_ everyone _will stop trying to go after Ben. We will go back to treating him like we did a mere day ago."_

 _"You're kidding me!" Shan Yu exclaimed. He was basically acting as the spokesman for the other villains. "The kid probably wants to leave now that he remembers he's the son of Beast and Belle."_

 _"Actually, he doesn't." Gaston corrected. "In fact, less than ten minutes ago, Ben told me the Isle was his home and he didn't want to leave."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Why do you think?" Gaston took a step to the side to show a frightened Mal, who did_ not _like the attention. The villains seemed to understand immediately. "So," he began again, "are we done here?"_

 _"Why are you protecting him?" Shan Yu finally asked. "He's the son of your enemy."_

 _"It's like I told him, his father and I were old friends." Gaston shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe one day King Beast will repay me for my kindness or even Ben himself when he decides to return ho—I mean, to Auradon."_

 **-0-0-0-**

The screen faded away and the magic from the wand stopped, leaving some surprised at what they saw.

"And there you have it." Mal turned to Queen Leah with a glare. "So, do you still think it is 'outrageous' that Ben survived on the Isle because of Gaston?"

Mal didn't wait for an answer as she gazed at the magic wand she was still holding. "You know what," she turned to her friends. "Before Jane took the wand, I had decided I wasn't going to do anything because I didn't want to betray Ben. I've also decided that I am _done_ listening to my mother." She held out her arm, her hand a fist. "I choose good, you guys."

"I choose good, too," said Jay, joining her fist with his.

Evie put her fist next to Jay's. "I choose good," she announced, smiling.

Carlos took a deep breath. "So, just to be clear: we don't have to be worried about how really mad our parents will be? Because they're gonna be really, really mad."

Mal, Evie, and Jay laughed.

"Your parents can't reach you here," Ben promised.

"Okay, then . . . Good." Carlos smiled and added his fist to the circle.

Mal laughed and nodded at Ben, beckoning him over to them. Ben put his hand in the mix, too. Mal leaned against him and smiled.

Right when everything seemed to be going well, the sound of a window shattering caused everyone to gasp. A green glowing orb floated down from the broken window and landed in front of Mal and her friends.

In a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder, Maleficent appeared.

The audience froze as Maleficent threw back her head.

" _I'm baaaaaaaaack!"_ she called.

Mal sighed. "Go, away, Mother."

Maleficent chuckled. "You're very funny," she said. In one hand, she held her scepter. She extended her other hand. "Here—wand me." When Mal didn't move, she snapped her fingers. "Chop-chop!"

Instead of doing what her mother wanted, Mal threw the wand to Fairy Godmother, who caught it.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi—" started Fairy Godmother.

" _Boo!"_ With a fearsome wave of her scepter, she froze everyone except for Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay. "Psych!" Maleficent chuckled darkly.

Maleficent took her time crossing over to Beast. She took off his glasses and put them back on his head. She hummed an evil ditty and walked over to Fairy Godmother. She plucked the wand from Fairy Godmother's hand. The wand sparked in protest.

"Where shall we begin?" she wondered. She pointed the wand at Mal. "I know. Why don't we start by getting rid of this . . ." She aimed the wand at the engagement ring on Mal's finger. The ring flew into Maleficent's hand. "Perfect fit!" She walked over to Ben and knocked his crown askance. "Falling in love is weak . . . and _ridiculous_ ," she spat. She looked at her daughter. "It's not what you want."

"You don't know what I want!" Mal shouted. "Mom, have you ever once asked _me_ what I want?" Tears streamed down Mal's cheeks as her heart beat quickened. Another panic attack? "I'm not you!"

"Well, obviously!" Maleficent agreed. "I've had years and years and years and years of practice being evil. You'll get there."

"No, I will not!" Mal argued. "And I really wish that you had never gotten there yourself." She gazed at her mother and felt sorry for her. "Love is not weak or ridiculous. It's actually really amazing." She smiled through her tears. "I've felt this way for over ten _years_ and I don't plan on ending it any time soon."

"I know one thing, young lady. You have _no room_ for love in your life!" Maleficent pointed the wand at Mal threateningly.

Mal extended her hand. " _And now I command, wand to my hand!_ " she yelled. With no hesitation, the wand flew into her hand. "It worked!" Mal cheered.

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos exchanged looks.

"I hardly think so," Maleficent told her daughter. "Frankly, this is tedious and very immature. Give me the wand! Give me the wand!"

"Hold on, Mal," insisted Carlos. "Maybe good really is more powerful than evil."

Maleficent cackled, facing Mal and her friends. "Enough!" she boomed. "You all will regret this!" She began to expand and change shape into a huge dark purple dragon. Maleficent the dragon soared above them. They gasped as she roared and swiveled her scaly head, getting Jay in her sights. She hovered, ready to strike.

"Jay!" cried Mal.

Jay sprinted away from the dragon.

"Jay, run!" called Evie.

Mal watched in horror as the dragon flew the length of the aisle, overtaking Jay quickly. As Maleficent swooped down on him, talons gleaming, Evie stepped between them and reflected a beam of sunlight with her mirror. It blinded the dragon, who came skidding to a sudden stop.

Mal leaped between them and her mother, holding out the wand. "Leave my friends alone!" she ordered. "This is between you and me, Mother!"

The dragon slowly bent her head down until it was level with Mal. Mal was dwarfed (sorry Grumpy) by the monster. The dragon cackled—an echoing reminder that Maleficent was still in there. The dragon met Mal's eyes, assured of victory.

Mal didn't blink. Her eyes flashed green. In the reflection of the dragon's eyes, Mal stood fearless, beautiful, and strong. She incanted confidently, " _The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one._ " Mal said it again, louder. " _The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one._ " Mal repeated the words a final time, with even more force: " _The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one!_ " Before, Mal had always lost the stare-downs she'd had with her mother. But in that moment, the dragon blinked.

There was a flash of smoke, and the dragon was gone.

Mal gasped. She, Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked at one another and smiled.

"What just happened?" asked Carlos.

"I have no idea," said Mal, racing down the aisle.

Her friends followed her.

"Did you do it?" wondered Evie.

"I don't know!" said Mal, stopping short.

Fairy Godmother magically unfroze and ran to meet them in the aisle.

"No, no, no," denied Fairy Godmother, who stood looking at them with warmth and pride. "Your mother did," she said gently to Mal. "She shrank to the size of the love in her heart. That's why it's so . . . itty-bitty." She gazed down at their feet.

Where there had once been a dragon, there now was a tiny lizard. Mal questioned, "Is she going to be like that forever?"

"Forever is a long time. You learned how to love. So can she."

Mal smiled. She held the wand out to Fairy Godmother. "I believe this belongs to you."

Fairy Godmother took the wand and picked up the ring from the ground. "And I believe _this_ belongs to you." She held it out to Mal. "Your Highness."

Mal grinned and put on the ring.

Fairy Godmother looked at Mal's friends. "You all have earned yourselves an A in Goodness class."

Mal and her friends laughed. Evie gave Mal a high five.

Fairy Godmother aimed her wand at Ben, Beast, and Belle. "Bibbidi-Bobbodi-Boo!" she chanted.

Ben charged forward, but Mal managed to stop him. "It's okay!" She smiled. "We kind of all got this wrapped up here."

Fairy Godmother unfroze the other Auradonians.

Ben looked around, confused, and then swept Mal into a hug. Mal squealed.

"Next time, I rescue you, okay?" he said.

"Yeah. Let's not have there be a next time, okay?" Mal gave him a hug, then straightened his crown on his head as she kissed him. She giggled and stated, "I will be right back."

Mal walked over to Fairy Godmother, who was in the middle of lecturing Jane.

"I love you," Fairy Godmother began, pointing the wand at Jane, "but you are on a _major_ time-out."

"Don't be too hard on Jane," Mal intervened, putting a hand on Fairy Godmother's shoulder. "I was the one who put all that crazy stuff in her head." She locked eyes with a humiliated Jane. " _You_ are beautiful, inside and out. Your mom got that right."

Jane smiled. "I guess I did get pretty lucky in the mother department."

Mal laughed. "Yeah! I guess so."

Fairy Godmother took Jane's hand and led her away.

Mal locked eyes with Audrey. Mal smiled and curtsied. Audrey did the same. Their not getting along was water under the bridge, for real that time.

An attendant clamped the bell jar over the lizard in the aisle.

Mal leaped toward them. "Hey! Careful!" she chided. "That's my mom!"

The audience laughed, and the attendant bowed and walked away.

Mal, Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos with Dude huddled together.

"Let's get this party started!" cheered Jay.

The friends all whooped and cheered. They were ready for the coronation celebration.

* * *

That evening, outside the school, the whole student body set it off and partied.

Ben twirled Mal. Evie danced fiercely with Doug. Jay and Carlos danced with Jane. Then Jay danced with Audrey. Fireworks exploded in the sky above the school. Chad jived. Lonnie boogied. It was a hip-hop fairy-tale rave.

The lights flashed. The music blasted.

Mal gazed into Ben's eyes. The sky was lit up with sparklers behind him. She touched her nose to his. Mal couldn't help smiling. She never would have thought, in her wildest dreams, that her story would have a happy ending.

* * *

 **I know I already said this, but Bonus Chapter 3 will be up this weekend!**


	17. Bonus Chapter 3 (Epilogue)

**Here we are folks! The official last chapter of this story! Thank you to everyone that has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. A special thank you to Roxas Itsuka and Twilightandpercyjacksonlover30 for reviewing EVERY single chapter of this story. That's right, I've been keeping track!**

 **I'm sorry to say this, but I won't post the sequel until next year. HOWEVER, I will be working on it beforehand so you don't have to wait as long for updates and I have already started on it. I'll let you know when the sequel is up.**

 **I may also end up posting a story that has one-shots of the characters in this series. For example, there could be a chapter of Ben telling the Gaston twins to stop bullying Carlos, the Isle children throwing a fair well party for the five going to Auradon, the scavenger hunt scenario where this time Mal is able to take a selfie with Grumpy, etc. If I do end up posting that story, I'll be sure to add an author's note on this story and 'Raised on the Isle'.**

 **Enjoy this chapter and thank you once again!**

* * *

On a Monday morning, Gaston Jr and Gaston III were almost out the door, about to walk to school when their father suddenly stopped them.

"Where's Gil?" their father interrogated. "Is he going to catch up with you two?"

Even though the twins go to a different school than Gil, they usually walk him to certain portion of the Isle on Monday morning before going their separate ways. Gil usually stays on that side of the Isle for the week and then comes home on the weekend. Gil is known to get a little side track and is easily distracted.

Gaston Jr commented, "Gil says he's not going to school today or anytime soon."

"He says he's too mad and will probably start a fight if someone tries to simply joke with him," added Gaston III.

Their father sighed. "Let me guess . . ."

"Ben," spoke the three of them in unison.

Gaston sighed one more time. "I'll talk to him. Maybe I can knock some sense into him and get him out of whatever mood he's in."

* * *

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Gil looked over his shoulder to gaze at his bedroom door, since he did have his back to it. "It's open," he called.

As expected, his father, Gaston, entered his room and softly closed the door behind him. "You need to get ready for school," he chided. "How do you expect to get better at reading if you don't learn?"

Gil moved his head back to its original position so he wouldn't have to look at his father. "It's been two months," Gil claimed with an uncharacteristic sad tone. "I haven't received any more letters since the first two Ben sent. It's like . . . he doesn't care about me anymore since being in Auradon."

"That is not true and you know it!" Gaston argued. "He's probably been too busy with duties as king to write to you. After all, in the last news broadcast, he was wearing your necklace."

Gil scoffed. "He probably felt guilty or forgot where he got it from."

Gaston pondered on an idea for a few moments. "Harry and Uma have been talking bad about him again," he deduced, "haven't they?" His son didn't answer, which made Gaston think he was right. "Gil, you and I know Ben has cared for you as a brother for ten _years_. Why would he suddenly stop now?"

"Auradon!" Gil spat as he sat up to face his father. "That's why! They are forcing him to forget that he ever lived here in the first place. Besides, when was the last time he did something for us as 'King of the Isle'?"

Gaston stared at his son in wonder as he answered, with one word, "Three."

"'Three'?" Gil repeated, somewhat confused. "Three what?"

"There are now three shipments for food from Auradon," Gaston informed knowingly. "One on Monday, one on Wednesday, and the last one on Saturday as usual. Each shipment is sorted like always and we are starting to get fresher food. In fact, I bet in a year's time, we'll have the same food as those Auradonians."

"If he can make time to sort out three shipments a week, then why hasn't he written back to me?" Gil challenged.

"Have you tried writing to him again?"

Gil hesitated. "No, but—"

"Then you are to blame as well!" Gaston retorted. "Now get dressed and get to school or else you'll be doing all the chores by yourself. And if I find out you ditched to go to Ursula's restaurant again, I'll ground you from that side of the Isle and have you transferred to Dragon Hall with your brothers!"

"So, you would take away the only thing I have left of my mother?"

Gaston glared at his son. "Don't you _dare_ pull that card with me, young man. If you _ever_ try it again, I'll whip you!"

Gaston stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Letting out a sigh, he thought of a single request.

 _Ben, do something to knock some sense into your brother._


	18. SEQUEL!

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!**

 **I just wanted to let all you loyal readers know that I have added THREE new stories as a Christmas gift! One story is the sequel to this lovely tale while the other two stories are the original sequel and alternate sequel of another story.**

 **That's right!**

 **You read that correctly. As of now the prologue to the sequel Descendants: Welcome to Auradon has been published! Now keep in mind that this is merely a prologue. You'll get the first chapter next year as originally planned. Whenever you get a free time from your celebration be sure to check it out!**

 **The title is called: "Descendants 2: Welcome Home"**


	19. Coming Soon

**COMING SOON IN AUGUST 2019:**

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 ** _Descendants_** _ **3:**_

 _ **Welcome to Reality**_


	20. Final Announcement

**_ANNOUNCEMENT!_**

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 **The Final** **Installment**

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 **Of The Raised On The Isle** Series

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 **Has** **Officially**

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 **Published!**


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